The biggest increases were registered in oil prices with diesel prices growing by 5.8 percent and petrol by 4.5 percent
TIRANA, May 10 – Albania’s Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) announced that the consumer price index, CPI, increased 3.5% year-on-year last April, registering the second drop in a row after last March’s 3.9 percent.
One year earlier, the CPI was up 1.9%. The 3.5 percent rate returns inflation within the central bank’s 3 percent target, plus/minus 1 percent, registering the lowest rate during the first four months of this year.
According to INSTAT, the drop in consumer prices was mainly a result of domestic production which brought a decrease in food articles prices by 1.4 percent. The biggest decrease was reported in the “vegetables including potatoes” group whose prices fell by 8.2 percent. Cucumber prices in April fell by 44.9 percent, spinach by 25.8 percent, lettuce by 19.5 percent, tomatoes by 3 percent.
Meanwhile, fruit and tobacco prices increased by 1.4 percent . Medicine prices also registered a 2.1 percent increase.
The biggest increases were registered in oil prices with diesel prices growing by 5.8 percent and petrol by 4.5 percent. Monthly changes in other groups varied from -0.2 to 0.2 percent, said the Institute of Statistics.
Last February, the inflation rate registered a record 4.4 percent, exceeding the bank’s target by 0.4 percent mainly because of higher food and electricity prices.
The electricity price in February registered an increase of 13.1 percent which was also reflected in the CPI of January 2010 when the price increase became effective.
The Bank of Albania has said inflationary trends are expected to fall during the second half of the year.
According to the International Monetary Fund, administrative price increases may drive headline inflation temporarily above the 3ѱ percent target band in the near term. However, underlying inflation is expected to remain well contained, and annual inflation is projected at 3.4 percent in 2010 and 3 percent in the medium term.
