In September, the CPI inflation in Kazakhstan has slowed down to 5.4% y/y compared to 5.8% y/y recorded in August, the State Statistics Agency has announced. In m/m terms, inflation made up 0.2% in the reported month same as in August.

According to the Agency, food prices in Kazakhstan last month fell by 0.2% m/m, while non-food goods went up by 0.2% m/m, paid services increased by 0.6% m/m.

In September, the prices of solid fuel in Kazakhstan rose by 0.5%, diesel fuel - by 0.3%, and gasoline - by 0.2%. The newspapers and periodicals increased by 0.4%, clothing and footwear - by 0.3%, pharmaceutical products - by 0.2%. As for food prices, a reduction in price was observed for potatoes - 10.7%, fresh vegetables - 8.4%, fresh fruit - 2.6%, buckwheat - 0,9%, sugar - 0.5%, sunflower oil - 0.3%.

On the other hand, the increase in prices was recorded for eggs - by 3.7%, rice - by 2.2%, semolina - by 1.8%, raw milk - by 1.5%, cottage cheese - one%, kefir - by 0.8%, pearl barley - 0.7%, tea, meat and poultry - by 0.6% each, confectionery products - by 0.3%. In the reporting period the prices of education services grew by 4.1%, health care services - by 3.1%, restaurants and hotel services - by 0.5%, leisure, entertainment and culture services - by 0.4%, prices at hairdressers and personal service establishments - by 0.3%, according to the Agency’s report.

Since January 2013 the structure of the CPI the share of food products has been 38.1 %, non-food - 31.6 %, paid services - 30.3 %.

Inflation rate remains below the expectation of the government which assumes 6-8% inflation this year. Still, after exclusion of the seasonal factors in summer, inflation is likely to match the planned corridor in the end of the year.