Inflation grows for the first time since June, reaches 1.9%

Inflation for October grew for the first time after four months, giving the first signs of unexpected coming out of the decline cycle during the summer months.

According to data from the Institute of Statistics, inflation approached the lower limit of the Central Bank target, reaching 1.9%, from 1.6% for September.

To the overwhelming extent, growth came from the food group, where inflation reached 4%, from 3.5% that had been a month earlier.

The increase has come mainly from fresh agricultural produce, where fruits were up by 15.5% and vegetables grew by 13% on an annual basis.

According to the Bank of Albania, the fall in inflation during the summer months was mainly due to supply factors, linked to raw material prices, but also to the effect of strengthening the lek at the exchange rate.

The decline in inflation was expected to be transient, but, in spite of this, the summer blow has altered the Bank of Albania’s projections for annual inflation and its return to target in the future.

In the first half of this year, the Bank of Albania predicted a return on inflation close to the 3% target in mid-2018.

SCAN

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