Bulgaria records second straight month of deflation
Bulgaria’s consumer price index fell by one per cent in June, the second straight month of deflation, pushing the year-on-year inflation figure at the end of the month to 1.6 per cent, National Statistical Institute data showed on July 12.
Cumulative inflation for the first six months of the year was 0.5 per cent.
In recent years, the statistics board often reports deflation in summer, when food prices are pushed down by seasonal fluctuations. In June, food prices fell by 2.3 per cent, with non-food prices down 0.6 per cent and services prices up 0.2 per cent.
The harmonised consumer price index, the figure calculated by the statistics board for comparison with inflation in the European Union, was 0.5 per cent down in June and the year-on-year figure was an increase of 1.6 per cent at the end of the month.
Inflation, however, is expected to jump in July, reflecting the 13 per cent increase in electricity prices, which went into effect on July 1, as well as increases in the prices of goods and services triggered by the electricity price hike.
(Photo: svilen001/sxc.hu)
