Inflation At Record Hike, 4.4%

TIRANA, March 8 – The annual inflation rate in Albania in February 2010 reached a record 4.4 percent, exceeding the Bank of Albania limit by 0.4 percent. The Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said on Monday the Consumer Price Index (CPI) registered a 1.1 percent increase last February compared to the previous month mainly because of higher food and non-alcoholic drink prices and more expensive electrical energy since January.
The index group of “food and non-alcoholic beverages” marked the highest increase of 2.4 percent with an impact of 0.9 percent in the total monthly difference. The biggest increase in this group was observed in the “vegetables including potatoes” group which grew by 13.2 percent. Leek prices increased by 40.8 percent and that of tomatoes by 30.0 percent, said INSTAT.
Meanwhile, fruit prices rose by 1.3 percent with lemon prices increasing by 15.7 percent.
The prices of some other products in the “food” sub-groups fell, including “fish” by 1.2 percent, “cooking oil and fat” by 0.5 percent, “milk, cheese and eggs” by 0.5 percent.
Alcoholic drinks and tobacco prices also increased last February by 0.3 and 0.2 percent, respectively.
The “transport” index group increased by 0.3 percent with diesel prices rising by 0.0 percent and petrol by 0.7 percent.
The index group of “rent, water, fuel and energy” increased by 0.1 percent. The liquid gas also underwent a 13.1 percent increase.
The electrical energy price registered an increase of 13.1 percent which was also reflected in the CPI of January 2010 when the price increase became effective.
“The energy price registered a 13.1 percent increase and has yielded an impact of 0.5 percent in the total change of the CPI,” said Hazbie Bunguri, a specialist at the price department of INSTAT.
Experts say the increase in prices will most likely continue in the coming months because of higher electrical energy and oil prices, making the cost of living in Albania more expensive.