Albania’s CPI inflation speeds up to 1.7% y/y in September 2013.

By bne IntelliNews October 8, 2013

Albania’s consumer prices increased by 1.7% y/y in September 2013, accelerating from a 1.2% y/y growth in August, the statistics institute, INSTAT, informed. However, the growth was still lower than the 2.6% y/y rate recorded in September 2012. In monthly terms, consumer prices picked up by 0.8% in September, following a marginal drop in the previous month.

The overall trend was again determined by food prices, which grew 3.9% y/y, speeding up from 2.8% y/y in August. The growth was mainly driven by a 18.8% y/y increase in fruit prices and a 15.7% rise in vegetable prices. Costs of the two categories speeded up from 14.8% y/y and 8.4% y/y, respectively, in the previous month.

Prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco increased by 2.4% y/y in September advancing slower than August’s rise of 3.9% y/y. Communications costs grew by 1.3% y/y , rising at the same pace as in the previous month.

Education charges increased by 2 % on the year and regulated prices registered a 1.5% y/y rise.

On the other hand, lower prices of clothing and footwear (down 3.7% y/y) continued to exert downward pressure on the reading. Prices of transport dropped by 0.9% y/y reflecting a 0.5% y/y decline in the costs of transportation vehicles.

In our estimates, the average inflation rate was equal to 2.1% in January to September 2013, up from 1.9% in the same period of 2012.

Consumer prices, % y/y            
  Sep-12 Jun-13 Jul-13 Aug-13 Sep-13 Jan-Sep 2013
TOTAL  2.6 2.3 1.6 1.2 1.7 2.1
Food and Drink  4.2 5.4 4.0 2.8 3.9 4.6
Alcohol and Tobacco  2.6 4.1 4.1 3.9 2.4 3.7
Clothing and Footwear  -2.1 -4.5 -4.4 -3.8 -3.7 -3.7
Rent and Utilities    0.1 -0.5 -0.5 -0.5 1.5 -0.3
Furniture and Maintenance  1.3 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.8
Healthcare  1.7 -0.1 -1.0 -1.5 -1.4 0.0
Transportation  4.6 1.1 0.5 0.3 -0.9 0.3
Communication  0.0 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3
Recreation and Culture  1.6 0.4 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.8
Education  1.5 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.0
Hotels and Restaurants  2.0 1.9 2.1 2.7 3.1 2.1
Others  6.0 -1.6 -2.4 -2.0 -3.0 -0.9
Source: INSTAT            

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