Albania’s consumer prices increased by 2.1% y/y in May 2013, slowing down from a 2.3% annual rise in April, the statistics institute, INSTAT, said on its website. The growth, however, was above the 1.9% y/y rate recorded in May 2012. In monthly terms, consumer prices declined by 1% in May after edging down by 0.1% m/m in April.
Food prices increased by an annual 4.9%, continuing its upward trend from the past five months. The growth was mainly driven by a 28.6% rise in vegetable prices and an 5.7% y/y increase in prices of fruits. Prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco went up 4.3% y/y in May after advancing 3.5% y/y in the previous month. Communications and education services costs grew by 1.3% and 1.8% y/y, respectively, advancing at the same pace as in the previous four months. Costs of transport reversed to a 0.5% y/y rise, which resulted from a 0.9% y/y growth in the costs of both equipment operations of personal transportation and transportation services. By contrast, lower prices of clothing and footwear (down 3.6% y/y) continued to exert downward pressure on the inflation. Regulated prices registered a 1% y/y drop in the month.
In our estimates, the average inflation rate was equal to 2.4% in January to May 2013, up from 1.3% in the same period of 2012.
The central bank decided on May 29 to keep the base interest rate at its historic low of 3.75% for a fourth consecutive month after cutting it by 25bps in January. The decision is in line with the objectives to meet the mid-term inflation target, while providing necessary stimulus to support lending growth and consumption.
Consumer prices, % y/y | ||||||
May-12 | Jan-13 | Mar-13 | Apr-13 | May-13 | Jan-May 2013 | |
TOTAL | 1.9 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 |
Food and Drink | 1.9 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 5.1 |
Alcohol and Tobacco | 1.2 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.8 |
Clothing and Footwear | -2.0 | -3.1 | -3.4 | -3.4 | -3.6 | -3.4 |
Rent and Utilities | 1.3 | 0.3 | -0.5 | -0.9 | -1.0 | -0.5 |
Furniture and Maintenance | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
Healthcare | 3.5 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.8 |
Transportation | 4.1 | 1.5 | -0.7 | -0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
Communication | -0.1 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
Recreation and Culture | 1.8 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.9 |
Education | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
Hotels and Restaurants | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
Others | 5.9 | 7.5 | -3.5 | -3.6 | -3.6 | 0.2 |
Source: INSTAT |
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