Annual inflation in March dropped below 8% mark – Statistics Agency

In March 2024, the consumer price index increased by 0.67%, as reported by the Statistics Agency.

The rate of inflation has been minimal for the third consecutive month for this period over the last five years. Since the beginning of the year, prices have risen by an average of 1.65% — for comparison, in previous years, growth did not fall below 2%.

Annual inflation continues to hit new lows. As of March, it was 7.98%, which is 0.37% lower than the February level.

Monthly price growth in the food segment accelerated to 0.8%, while annual inflation decreased to 7.8%. Vegetables and melons experienced the highest price increase again in March (+4%) — specifically, bell peppers' prices rose by almost a quarter, and cabbage increased by 8%.

On the other hand, prices for oil and fat products fell by 0.7% and meat by 0.2%. Sunflower oil became cheaper by 1.1% over the month, bananas by 4.6%, and oranges by 5%.

Over the year, fruits and nuts saw the most significant price increase (+34.4%), followed by dairy products (+9.4%) and cereals (+8.2%). Oils became cheaper (-10.5%) and vegetables (-8.2%), with onion prices dropping 2.5 times after last year's records.

Non-food items in March increased in price by 0.5%, but the annual figure decreased to 7.2%. The price growth for furniture (0.4% and 5.7%), clothing (0.4% and 6.3%), and shoes (0.5% and 5.7%) remains low.
Household appliances did not become more expensive in March, although prices rose by 8.6% over the year. Prices for electronics increased by 0.5% over the month, slightly decreasing over the year.

The rise in petrol prices slowed down in March to 0.1%, while propane became cheaper by 3.3%. Over the year, they increased in price by 25.2% and 19.3% respectively.

Inflation in the segment of paid services in March was 0.7%, and the annual rate accelerated to 9.5%. Catering and hotel services became more expensive by 0.5% over the month and by 17.9% and 19.5% over the year, respectively.

Transportation costs by road increased by 1.3% in March and by 14.7% over the year, while airfares rose by 2.6% and 11.9%, respectively. The cost of housing rent returned to normal levels (0.4% and 7.6%).