EU-harmonized inflation in Slovakia reached 2.5 percent year-on-year in December 2007, rising from 2.3 percent in November, the Statistics Office said on January 16. The increase in inflation in December was fuelled mainly by a rise in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which were up 7.2 percent on the year. Other y-o-y increases were: in hotels, cafes and restaurants, in education, in miscellaneous goods and services, in posts and telecommunications, in transport, in alcoholic beverages and tobacco, in clothing and footwear, in housing, water, electricity, natural gas and other fuels, and in recreation and culture. Prices in furniture, household equipment and routine household maintenance fell by 0.3 percent, while those in healthcare were down 0.2 percent.
Monthly EU-harmonized prices in December rose by 0.3 percent, decelerating from 0.4 percent a month earlier. Food prices rose by 0.8 percent on a monthly basis. Other m-o-m increases were: in clothing and footwear, in healthcare and in miscellaneous goods and services, in hotels, cafes and restaurants, in alcoholic beverages and tobacco and in furniture, household items and routine maintenance. Prices in housing, water, electricity, natural gas and other fuels as well as in posts and telecommunications, in recreation and culture and in education remained flat on the month. TASR
