Romania’s March CPI +0.5% M-M, Annual Inflation Narrows To 6.71%

The inflation growth in March is due to a 0.68% monthly increase in non-food prices. Food prices rose 0.39% on the month, while service prices were up 0.33% in March.

Romanian analysts polled by MEDIAFAX saw the monthly inflation dropping from 0.88% in February to 0.2%-0.3% in March, due to a slowing local demand and a stable exchange rate of the Romanian leu.

The harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, stood at 7.6% at the end of March.

Romania’s inflation in 2008 ranked at 6.3%, as the depreciation of the leu against the euro by the end of the year counterbalanced the positive effect of price decrease in non-food products, economic analysts said.