Electrical energy, gas, cooking oil - highest price increases from July 2020 to July 2021

Electrical energy, natural gas and cooking oil had the highest price increases in the past year, July 2020 to July 2021, while potatoes recorded the highest decrease in price, according to data from the National Institute for Statistics published on Wednesday. In the July 2020 - July 2021 interval, prices for electrical energy have gone up by 24.65 pct, for natural gas by 20.55 pct, for cooking oil by 18.08 pct, while potatoes noted a decrease of price by 31.02 pct. In what regards foodstuffs, in the said period the highest price increases were for cooking oil - 18.08 pct, sheep's cheese - 6.01 pct, and fresh fish - 5.76 pct, while the most important price decreases were for potatoes - 31.02 pct, fresh fruit - 4.93 pct and citruses and other meridional fruits - 2.38 pct. Since the beginning of this year, the price of edible oil increased by 14.19 pct, citruses and other meridional fruits by 13.40 pct, and fresh fruit by 10.93 pct, while eggs were cheaper by 4.68 pct and potatoes by 3.92 pct. In the non-food stuff category, in the mentioned period the highest price increases were noted for electrical energy - 24.65 pct, natural gas - 20.55 pct, and fuel - 12.96 pct, while the only decrease was noted for thermal energy, by 0.2 pct. Since the beginning of 2021, the price for electrical energy has increased by 23.15 pct, for natural gas by 20.68 pct and for fuel by 11.27 pct. In the past year, July 2020 to July 2021, Romanians paid most for postal services (plus 5.4 pct), for water, sewerage and salubrity services (4.47 pct) and medical aid (4.41 pct). On the other hand, plane travel prices decreased by 22.97 pct. Since the beginning of the current year, the highest price increases were recorded for postal services (5.51 pct), water, sewerage and sanitation services (4.18 pct) and hygiene and cosmetics (3.04 pct), with the only price decrease was noted in air travel services - 18.09 pct. The annual inflation rate rose to 5 pct in the month of July 2021, from 3.9 pct in June, given that non-food items have increased their prices by 7.64 pct, services by 2.74 pct, and foodstuffs by 2.33 pct. Consumer prices in the month of July 2021 compared to June 2021 have increased by 1 pct since the start of the year (July 2021 compared to December 2020) the price increase was of 4.4 pct.AGERPRES(RO - author: Nicoleta Banciulea, editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - author: Razvan-Adrian Pandea, editor: Maria Voican)