Bulgaria CPI slides back into deflation in July
Bulgaria’s consumer price index (CPI) fell by 0.2 per cent in July and the annual figure recorded 0.2 per cent deflation, data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI) showed on August 12.
Bulgaria went through 19 consecutive months in which the year-on-year CPI recorded deflation, a streak that ended in March and the CPI briefly peaked in May at 0.9 per cent annual inflation before resuming a downward trend.
Food prices shrank by one per cent in July and non-food prices were 0.3 per cent lower, while services prices rose by 0.9 per cent compared to June. In annual terms, services prices remained the only driver of CPI growth, rising by 2.7 per cent compared to July 2014, while food prices were 0.9 per cent down and non-food prices were 2.3 per cent lower.
The harmonised CPI figure, calculated by NSI for comparison with European Union data, was 0.2 per cent higher on a monthly basis, but the annual harmonised CPI remained in deflationary territory for the 24th consecutive month, having shrunk by one per cent compared to July 2014.
Food and beverage prices were 0.5 per cent down, on an annual basis, and transportation costs were 7.2 per cent lower, while the price of utilities and rent has increased by 3.8 per cent compared to a year earlier. The three categories account for half of the harmonised consumer price index.
(Photo: svilen001/sxc.hu)
