Bulgaria records 1.6% deflation in 2013
Bulgaria’s consumer price index (CPI) shrank by 1.6 per cent in 2013, despite a 0.3 per cent monthly inflation bump in December, data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI) showed on Janaury 14.
During the course of the year, the annual CPI figure recorded a six-point swing between February 2013, when it showed 4.4 per cent inflation, and December.
High inflation at the start of the year pushed the average annual CPI figure for 2013 to 0.9 per cent, but in monthly terms, Bulgaria recorded deflation in seven out of 12 months of last year.
The main reason for the drop were two electricity price cuts, which cancelled out the 13 per cent price hike from July 2012. The cuts led to a 7.2 per cent drop in rent and utilities prices, which account for 17.85 per cent of the CPI final figure.
Overall, services prices fell by 4.2 per cent in 2013, with food and non-food prices down by 0.8 per cent.
The harmonised consumer price index, calculated by the statistics board for comparison with European Union data, rose by 0.4 per cent in December. On an annual basis, the harmonised CPI recorded 0.9 per cent deflation.
The harmonised CPI figure showed utilities and rent prices down by 6.6 per cent and food prices down by 0.8 per cent, while transportation costs were up by 0.5 per cent over the previous 12 months. The three categories account for just over half of the harmonised consumer price index.
(Photo: svilen001/sxc.hu)
