Bulgaria annual CPI records inflation in March after 19 months of deflation
Bulgaria’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.4 per cent in March and the annual figure recorded 0.1 per cent inflation, the first instance of price growth after 19 months in which year-on-year CPI recorded deflation, data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI) showed on April 15.
This was also the first time since October 2013 that monthly CPI rose in two consecutive months, having also increased by 0.2 per cent in February.
Non-food prices were the main reason for inflation in March, rising by 1.2 per cent, and food prices were 0.3 per cent higher, while services prices were down 0.4 per cent compared to February. In annual terms, services prices were the main driver of inflation, rising by 2.8 per cent compared to March 2014, and food prices were 0.5 per cent higher, while non-food prices were 3.8 per cent down.
The harmonised CPI figure, calculated by NSI for comparison with European Union data, rose by 0.3 per cent in March, but the annual harmonised CPI remained in deflationary territory, having shrunk by 1.1 per cent compared to March 2014.
Food and beverage prices were 0.5 per cent up, on an annual basis, and the price of utilities and rent has increased by 5.8 per cent, while transportation costs were down 7.3 per cent compared to a year earlier. The three categories account for just over half of the harmonised consumer price index.
(Photo: svilen001/sxc.hu)
