Last month’s figure is the highest since 9.04% in July 2008. In April, the annual inflation came in at 8.34%.
Analysts estimated a monthly inflation of 0.3% in May, while the annual rate was predicted at 8.5%.
Food and non-food prices each increased by 0.2% on the month in May, while prices in the services sector were up 0.4%, the data showed.
Romanians paid by 6.7% more for fresh fruit in May compared with a month earlier, while the cost of potatoes increased by 3.6%. In the services sector, water and sewage prices went up 1.2% on the month.
Romania’s harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, rose to 7.5% at the end of May, from 7.2% the month before.
The central bank targets an annual inflation of 3% at the end of 2011, plus/minus one percentage point around the band. The bank recently revised upward its forecast on the year-end inflation to 5.1% from 3.6%, citing upside pressure from surging global prices for energy and food items.