Food prices fell 4.7% in August compared to 5% in August, service prices stagnated at 4.2% and prices of non-food items fell 2.7%, from 2.9% in August.
The annual rate calculated on the basis of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is 3.5%.
The average consumer price rate based on the CPI over the last 12 months (October 2018-September 2019) as compared to the previous 12 months (October 2017-September 2018) is 3.8%. The average rate based on the HICP is 3.9%.
Central bank governor Mugur Isarescu said in August that the central bank has kept its year-end inflation forecast at 4.2% for 2019, but raised its projection for 2020 to 3.4% from a previous forecast of 3.3%. Annual inflation will remain outside the central bank’s target variation band of 1.5%-3.5% throughout the second half of 2019 due to unfavorable shocks in the first half and is then seen stabilizing around the upper band of the target.