Consumer prices increased by an annual 4.3 percent in October. This was the second consecutive month when price hikes in Romania were the highest in the European Union. Romania was followed by Hungary, with a 4.2 percent inflation rate in October, and Poland, with 3.8 percent inflation. Prices in the EU rose 0.5 percent in October.
The sharpest price drops were registered in Ireland, Estonia, and Portugal, were products are less expensive, on average, by 2.8 percent, 2.1 percent, and 1.6 percent, respectively.
The National Institute of Statistics (INS) announced a few days ago that annual inflation in Romania declined to 4.3 percent in October from 4.94 percent in September. Even if Romania had the highest inflation rate in the EU, the 4.3 percent level is the lowest in Romania in the past two years and three months.
According to analysts, the exchange rate and the international oil quotes had the biggest influence on prices in October. “The depreciation of the leu and oil quotes are the principal causes for heightened inflation. Furthermore, there has also been a correction of prices for vegetables and fruits,” Vlad Muscalu, Senior Economist of ING Bank Romania, told Business Standard.
