Inflation

European Union annual inflation was 1.4% in July 2019, down from 1.6% in June. A year earlier, the rate was 2.2%. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The lowest annual rates were registered in Portugal (-0.7%), Cyprus (0.1%) and Italy (0.3%).

The consumer price index in July 2019 compared to June 2019 was 100.8%, i.e. the monthly inflation was 0.8%, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a press release. The inflation rate since the beginning of the year (July 2019 compared to December 2018) has been 2.0% and the annual inflation in July 2019 compared to July 2018 was 2.9%.

The weak inflation in Greece is due both to international factors, such as the euro/dollar exchange rate and the drop in oil prices, and domestic ones, such as the cuts in value-added tax at restaurants and on energy products, says Alpha Bank in its weekly bulletin on economic developments.

The annual inflation rate rose to 4.1 pct, in July this year, from 3.84 pct in June, due to the 15-percent price hike in food commodities, in services by 4.11 percent and non-food goods by 3.44 pct, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) published on Monday. "Consumer prices in July 2019 compared to July 2018 increased by 4.1 pct.

Romania does not register a drop in lending, but a reduction in the lending growth pace below 8 pct in the past months, on Thursday said the Governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) Mugur Isarescu, when displaying the quarterly inflation Report. "An annual growth of 8 per cent.

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) is keeping the year-end inflation target at 4.2pct, estimating a 3.4-pct 2020 year-end inflation, BNR Governor Mugur Isarescu said Thursday upon releasing the bank's quarterly inflation report. In May 2019, BNR was expecting year-end inflation to stay at 3.3pct in December 2020.

Even the interest rates of time deposits at Greek banks are approaching zero these days. Bank officials say that the rates will gradually decline from 0.5-0.6 percent today to 0.2-0.3 percent in the next few months.

Turkey's Central Bank on July 31 cut its year-end inflation forecast for 2019 to 13.9%, down from 14.6% in its previous report.         

The number of optimistic forecasts by international rating agencies regarding the prospects of Greece's borrowing capabilities is growing.

Inflation for June in comparison with May is minus 0.6%, the National Statistical Institute reported.

Inflation from the beginning of the year (June 2019 versus December 2018) was 1.2% and the annual inflation in June 2019 compared to June 2018 was 2.8%.

The average annual inflation for the period July 2018 - June 2019 compared to July 2017 - June 2018 was 3.3%.