BRATISLAVA, January 13, (WEBNOVINY) — The growth rate of consumer prices in Slovakia at the end of last year slowed down. According to data from the Statistics Office, the year-end annual inflation in December as measured by national methodology reached 4.4 percent. Compared with November, the price growth slowed by 0.2 percentage points. The price growth in November 2011 was at the highest since November 2008. Average inflation for 2011, according to statistics, was 3.9 percent. Month-on-month in December, prices increased by 0.1 percentage point, while the month before monthly growth was 0.5 percent.
Year-on -ear, the most significant growth was recorded of prices in transport by 10.5 percent, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels by 6 percent, education 5.9 percent and health care of 5.1 percent. Compared with the previous year, alcoholic beverages and tobacco become more expensive by 4.7 percent, miscellaneous goods and services by 4.6 percent, food and soft drinks by 4.3 percent, hotels, cafes and restaurants by 3.6 percent, clothing and footwear 2.1 percent, postal and telecommunication services by 0.5 percent, recreation and culture by 0.1 percent. Prices for furniture, household equipment and routine household maintenance were unchanged.
In a monthly comparison with November, December prices grew of alcoholic beverages and tobacco by 0.6 percent, miscellaneous goods and services by 0.3 percent, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, health care by 0.1 percent. Prices of clothing and footwear, recreation and culture by 0.1 percent. Prices have remained at the November level of food and beverages, transportation, postal and telecommunications services, education, hotels, cafes and restaurants.
Annual core inflation, which monitors consumer prices excluding administered prices and administrative interventions in the field of taxation, fell in December from November’s 2.5 percent to 2.3 percent. Net inflation, which unlike core inflation does not reflect developments in food prices, remained unchanged at the level of November at 2.2 percent. On a monthly basis, core inflation in December was 0.1 percent, while net inflation reached 0.1 percent.
Following the historically low average inflation of 1 percent in Slovakia in 2010 due to a sharp weakening in demand in times of crisis, price development is back to the upside. The Finance Ministry was thus right with its predictions from the last forecast, according to which average increase in prices for last year was to reach 3.9 percent. This year, the Finance Ministry expects inflation to slow down to 2.6 percent.
SITA
