April 2018 monthly inflation advances to 5.2pct in Romania

Monthly inflation in Romania advanced to 5.2 percent in March 2018, from 5 percent the month before, on a 7.2-percent increase in prices for non-food goods, a 4-percent increase in food prices and a 2.83-percent increase in services fees.

A higher annual inflation rate was recorded in June 2013, when consumer prices rose by 5.37 percent.

"Consumer prices in April 2018 increased by 5.2 percent as against April 2017. The annual inflation rate based on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is 4.3 percent. The average inflation rate in the last 12 months (May 2017 - April 2018), based on the CPI, is 2.8 percent over the previous 12 months (May 2016 - April 2017), based on the HICP, with an average of 2.2 percent, "reads a press statement released by the National Statistics Institute (INS).

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) has upwardly revised its inflation forecast for the end of this year to 3.6 percent, BNR Governor Mugur Isarescu said on May 9.

The previous forecast indicated an inflation of 3.5 percent in 2018.

For the end of 2019, BNR estimates an inflation rate of 3 percent, down 0.1 percentage points. AGERPRES (RO - author: Carmen Marinescu, editor: Oana Tilica; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)