Prices of goods and services for personal consumption, measured by the consumer prices index, were 10.7% higher in March 2023 than in March 2022, while compared to February they were 0.9% higher, according to the latest figures released by the state statics bureau (DZS).

The DZS has thus corrected its preliminary estimate released in late March, according to which the annual inflation rate was at 10.6% and monthly inflation was 0.8%.

This shows that annual inflation has fallen for the fourth consecutive month, after reaching a record 13.5% in November last year. In December, inflation growth slowed down to 13.1%, in January inflation was 12.7%, and in February 12%.

Broken down by the main groups of the ECOICOP classification, all categories increased on the annual level, and the highest average increase in consumer prices was recorded in the categories of restaurants and hotels and food and non-alcoholic beverages, each by 17.4%.

In the category of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, the price growth was 14.1%, in the category of furniture, home equipment and regular household maintenance, prices jumped by 12.9%; prices of miscellaneous goods and services rose by 11%, those of clothing and footwear by 9.4%, and in the category of recreation and culture prices went up by 8%. In the category of health prices went up by 6%, and in the category of alcoholic beverages and tobacco by 4.9%.

The mildest growth was recorded in transport, of 0.3%, in the category of communications, 1.2%, and in education, 2.4%.

According to the main components of the index (special aggregates), at the annual level, the price increase in the food, beverage and tobacco components was 15.4%, the increase in industrial non-food products excluding energy was 9.7%, while prices of services and energy grew by 8.2% and 7.4% respectively, the DZS said.

M-o-m, prices of clothing and footwear increased the most

On a monthly basis, DZS statistics show the average price increase was highest for clothing and footwear, 10.4%, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages with 1.3%, restaurants and hotels, with an increase of 0.9%, miscellaneous goods and services, with an increase of 0.8%, health (0.3%), and recreation and culture (0.2% each).

On the other hand, a drop in prices was recorded in communications, of 0.5%, in recreation and culture, of 0.4%, and in the category of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, of 0.3%, while prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco and transportation dropped by 0.1% each.

According to the main components of the index, at the monthly level, prices increased for industrial non-food products excluding energy, by 2.5%, for food, beverages and tobacco, by 1%, and for services, by 0.2% percent. On the other hand, prices in the energy component fell by 0.8%.

HICP – inflation at the annual level 10.5 percent

In its announcement on the consumer price index, the DZS also presents data on inflation measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which is a comparable measure of inflation for EU countries.

According to these data, the prices of goods and services for personal consumption in March increased by 0.9% on average compared to February, while compared to March 2022, they were up 10.5% on an annual basis.