Romania’s Feb CPI +0.88% M-M, Annual Inflation Widens To 6.89% – 2

The inflation growth in February is mainly due to an increase in non-food prices that were up 1.31% on the month. Food prices registered a monthly increase of 0.32%, while service prices rose 1.03% in February.

In the non-food sector, medical drug prices were up 6.5% on the month in February, while fuel prices rose 3.3%.

Six Romanian analysts polled by MEDIAFAX saw monthly inflation dropping from 1.24% in January to 0.5% in February, while the annual inflation rate was seen down from 6.71% to 6.5%, due to a slowing local demand and a stable exchange rate of the Romanian leu.

In January also, the inflation increase surpassed all analysts’ expectations, as it grew by almost one percentage point, to 1.24%, from 0.23% in December, while the annual rate grew from 6.3% to 6.71%, according to INS data.

The harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, stood at 7.8% at the end of February.

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.