A HALT in price growth was confirmed by the harmonised data according to the European Union methodology. Harmonised inflation in Slovakia in January was zero percent, the same as inflation measured using the national methodology, the SITA newswire reported.
In December, prices still grew by 0.4 percent in year-on-year terms. This year’s average annual inflation rate in January amounted to 1.3 percent. In a monthly comparison, there was the opposite development. While in December prices fell by 0.2 percent, in January they went up by 0.3 percent.
As the Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic further noted, the strongest annual growth in prices in January was seen in education, up by 5.4 percent, followed by prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which rose by 2.5 percent, hotels, cafés and restaurants by 1.5 percent, and health care services by 1.1 percent.
The price of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose slightly by 0.9 percent, clothing and footwear by 0.7 percent and recreation and culture by 0.6 percent.
On the other hand, prices fell most in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels by 1.6 percent. Also lower were prices in post and telecommunications, furniture, household equipment and routine household maintenance, equally by 1.4 percent. Transport prices fell by 1.2 percent and prices of miscellaneous goods and services dropped by 0.9 percent.