Kosovo's consumer price inflation ticked down to 0.1% y/y in February from 0.2% the month before on falling food, transport and telecoms prices that largely mitigated price growth of other CPI components, statistics office data showed. February’s annual inflation was the lowest since December 2009, when the country started recovering from an 11-month deflation. On a monthly basis, the consumer price inflation recorded 0.0% growth compared with a 0.3% increase in January.
Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which have the highest weight (38.2%) in the consumer basket, fell 1.7% y/y in February, the same as the preceding month. Transport charges, which have the second highest weight in the basket, dropped 2.5% y/y, deepening from a 1.6% y/y decline in January. The third most heavily-weighted group, that of furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, registered a 0.8% annual price growth, easing from a 1.0% rise in January.
The EBRD sees Kosovo's average annual inflation at 2.0% this year, compared to 1.8% in 2013.
Kosovo's CPI inflation, y/y | Weight | Nov-13 | Dec-13 | Jan-14 | Feb-14 |
TOTAL | 100% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 38.2% | -1.2% | -1.2% | -1.7% | -1.7% |
Alcoholic beverages, tobacco | 5.4% | 9.1% | 2.9% | 3.9% | 4.8% |
Clothing and footwear | 6.3% | 4.4% | 3.5% | 3.3% | 3.4% |
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 7.6% | -0.1% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 1.4% |
Furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house | 10.0% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.0% | 0.8% |
Health | 3.3% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.3% |
Transport | 13.5% | -1.7% | -0.9% | -1.6% | -2.5% |
Communication | 3.3% | -0.9% | -0.8% | -1.1% | -1.1% |
Recreation and culture | 4.5% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.4% |
Education | 1.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Restaurants and hotels | 3.9% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.7% | 2.3% |
Miscellaneous goods and services | 3.1% | 12.9% | 11.5% | 11.6% | 11.5% |
Source: statistics office (KAS) |
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