BRATISLAVA, July 13, (WEBNOVINY) — After several months of stagnation and a modest decline, growth of prices in Slovakia accelerated again in June. As the Statistics Office reported on Friday, inflation measured by the national index reached 3.6 percent in June. Compared with May, price growth accelerated by 0.2 percentage points. Over the first half of 2012, prices in Slovakia rose by 3.7 percent. In a monthly comparison, consumer prices in June compared to May grew by 0.2 percent, while in the previous month they rose by 0.1 percent.
On an annual basis, prices grew most in transportation by 6.7 percent, education by 6 percent, and health care by 5.2 percent. Higher prices were also in housing, water, electricity, gas supply and other fuels by 4.4 percent, food and soft drinks, and miscellaneous goods and services by 3.9 percent and hotels, cafes and restaurants by 3.5 percent. Prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco grew by 2.6 percent, clothing and footwear by 2 percent, recreation and culture by 1.5 percent, furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance by 0.6 percent. Prices decreased only of postal and telecommunication services by 0.2 percent.
In monthly terms, prices for education grew by 1.7 percent, food and soft drinks by 1.1 percent, miscellaneous goods and services by 0.5 percent, hotels, cafes and restaurants by 0.3 percent, clothing and footwear and recreation and culture by 0.1 percent. Prices of transport grew by 0.6 percent, health care by 0.5 percent, alcoholic beverages and tobacco by 0.4 percent and the furniture, household equipment and routine household maintenance by 0.1 percent. Prices of housing and the energy and postal and telecommunications services remained at the level of May.
Slovakia achieved its historically lowest inflation in 2010, when due to a sharp weakening of demand in times of crisis, it reached an average of 1 percent. Last year, growth of inflation resumed. According to national methodology, average inflation in 2011 was 3.9 percent, which was in line with expectations of the Ministry of Finance. The highest growth last year was in prices of transport, energy, food and education. This year, the ministry envisages a slowdown in price growth to 3.5 percent.
SITA
