The Slovak Statistics Office (ŠÚ) wrote on Wednesday, February 13, that in January 2013, the year-on-year inflation reached 2.4 percent in total, core inflation 2.8 percent and net inflation 2 percent.

In January 2013, compared with December 2012, core inflation affected the total inflation by 0.46 percentage points, regulated prices by 0.15 percentage points and indirect taxes did not affect the total inflation. Food prices affected core inflation by 0.30 percentage points and net inflation affected core inflation by 0.15 percentage points.

In a month-on-month comparison, in January 2013, compared with December 2012, consumer prices increased by 0.6 percent in total. Prices increased in the categories of food and non-alcoholic beverages by 2.1 percent, miscellaneous goods and services by 1 percent and alcoholic beverages and tobacco by 0.6 percent. The areas of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance; postal and telecommunication services; recreation and culture; and education each rose by 0.4 percent, while transportation and hotels, cafés and restaurants increased equally by 0.2 percent. Prices of clothing and footwear decreased by 1.5 percent and health by 0.3 percent, the šÚ wrote.

A rise in prices of food by 2 percent was affected by mostly higher prices for vegetables, while falling prices in health were affected by lower prices of hospital services, medical and pharmaceutical products, therapeutic appliances and medical equipment. Prices of outpatient services rose slightly, the ŠÚ wrote.

The SITA newswire wrote that this year’s pace of price increases shall be slower than last year’s. For example, Poštová Banka expects inflation for the whole of 2013 to average at 2.5 percent. “The curbing force of the price increases will be consumers who remain cautious, influenced by slower economic growth and the high unemployment rate in the country,” Poštová Banka analyst Eva Sadovská told SITA. “However, each year, the risk factor is the development of agricultural commodities or oil prices on global markets, and subsequently their impact on the prices of food in the shops,” she added. According to Slovenská Sporiteľňa analyst Martin Baláž, inflation should stay close to January’s numbers in the following months. After the historically lowest level of inflation in 2010, which reached 1 percent on average due to a sharp weakening in demand during a time of crisis, swifter price growth resumed in 2011, at 3.9 percent. In 2012, price growth stayed at a similarly high level – 3.6 percent, SITA wrote.


(Source: Štatistický úrad SR, SITA)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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