The annual increase in October is due to a 5.27% rise in non-food prices, a 3.73% advance in food prices and a 2.73% rise in services prices, INS data also show.
Compared with end-December 2017, prices grew 3.23% in October 2018, with a 4.08% growth in prices of non-food items, a 2.69% growth in food prices and a 2.18% growth in services prices.
Compared with September, consumer prices inched up 0.52% in October, due to a 0.61% increase in food prices, a 0.52% rise in non-food prices and a 0.35% increase in services prices.
The annual inflation rate in October 2018, calculated based on the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP), stands at 4.2%.
The average inflation rate of the last 12 months (November 2017 – October 2018), compared with the previous 12 months (November 2016 – October 2017), calculated based on the consumer prices index (CPI), stands at 4.6%. The average inflation rate calculated based on the HICP stands at 4%.
The monthly average inflation rate was 0.3% in the first ten months of 2018, the same as in the first nine months, compared with an average 0.2% in the same period in 2017.
Romania’s central bank said last Thursday it kept its year-end inflation forecast at 3.5%, the same as in August at the previous inflation report, but raised its 2019 projection to 2.9% from a previous forecast of 2.7%.
Central bank governor Mugur Isarescu said inflation in Romania is not seen dropping below 2% in the long run. Isarescu also said the 2018 year-end forecast could be most influenced by oil prices in the upcoming period, as international oil price hikes are translated almost immediately in local fuel prices.