The growth in Lithuania's consumer price index (CPI) persisted in July, although it slowed to 0.5% y/y, data released by Statistics Lithuania on August 8 showed.
Following 12 straight months of deflation in 2015, inflation has remained positive in every month since the start of this year on the back of rising household income and stabilising oil prices. The reading shows inflation slowing down from 0.7% y/y in June. The CPI dropped 0.7% in monthly terms.
Prices increased in most segments in July, with a 6.3% boost in the recreation and culture segment the largest gain, followed by a 6% increase in the hotels and restaurant sector. On the other hand, prices in the transport sector fell 7.1%, remaining the largest drag on headline inflation.
Swedbank expects average annual inflation to finish the year at an average of 1.5% this year and to continue increasing in 2017. That conviction is yet to spread to institutions, however, with the European Commission pitching the likely gain in Lithuanian CPI at just 0.6%.