The overall increase in the consumer price recorded 1.9% in 2014, indicating a slight fall by 0.2 points compared to the previous years according to a note published on Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).4

This increase in the general price level resulted in much higher prices, recorded at 7.7% of the price of the goods and services of transport, due to the revision of fuel price hike in July 1, 2014.

While the prices of goods and transport services increased by 7.7% during the period studied, the price of food grew by 1.0%, compared with 3.6% in 2013. The largest increase of (1.7%) was however observed between June and July.

Regarding local goods and imported goods, the INS noted both internal and external inflation with respective increases of 2.1% and 1.3%.

The inflation rate could fall below 3% in late 2015, under the assumption that the prices of food continue to drop and that apart from the alcoholic beverages prices increase in February 2015, there is at the moment no other exogenous shocks this year yet and all things being equal no massive increases will come up before the end of the current year.