Bulgaria annual CPI records 0.2% deflation in July
Bulgaria’s consumer price index (CPI) shrank by 0.2 per cent year-on-year in July 2016, while the monthly data showed one per cent inflation, according to data released by the National Statistical Institute (NSI) on August 12.
July’s CPI increase was the first this year after eight months of negative or flat monthly growth and the highest monthly inflation recorded since September 2012, when it was 1.1 per cent.
Food prices rose by 1.6 per cent in July and services prices were 1.5 per cent higher than in June, while non-food prices remained flat. In annual terms, food prices were 1.9 per cent higher than in July 2015, while non-food prices were down 1.9 per cent and services prices shrank by one per cent.
The harmonised CPI figure, calculated by NSI for comparison with European Union data, recorded a one per cent increase on a monthly basis, but the annual harmonised CPI remained in deflationary territory for the 36th consecutive month, having shrunk by 1.1 per cent compared to July 2015.
Food and beverage prices were 2.2 per cent up, on an annual basis, while the price of utilities and housing has decreased by 0.8 per cent and transportation costs were 7.6 per cent lower compared to a year earlier. The three categories account for about 47 per cent of the harmonised CPI basket.
(Photo: svilen001/sxc.hu)
