In July, the annual rate was 3%, the data showed.
Food items were 0.7% costlier in August from a month earlier, while prices in the non-food and services sectors advanced 0.5% and 0.1% on the month, respectively.
Compared with August 2011, food prices rose 3.3% in August, while non-food and services prices increased by 3.9% and 4.9%, respectively, INS data showed.
Romanians paid by 5.5% more for fresh and canned vegetables in August compared with July, while the price of eggs increased 4% month-on-month.
In the non-food sector, fuel prices rose 2% on the month, while the price of cigarettes and tobacco products went up 0.7%. Urban transportation was by 1.9% costlier, while water and sewage services increased by 1%.
Romania’s harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, was flat on the month at 2.9% in August.
The central bank targets an annual inflation of 3% at the end of 2012, plus/minus one percentage point around the band. Last month, the bank left its year-end forecast unchanged at 3.2%, but warned of heightened inflationary risks due to higher international prices, a weaker leu and domestic political tensions.