Annual inflation hits 10.5% in August: Detailed breakdown of price changes in food, services, and utilities

Industrial goods continue to rise in price, while the growth of service costs slows down.

Consumer prices in August increased by 0.53%. This is slightly lower than last year (0.54%) and slightly higher than in 2022 (0.52%), according to the Statistics Agency.

Since the beginning of the year, inflation has reached 5.5%. The pace of price growth has increased compared to the same period in 2023 (3.8%), but remains below the level of two years ago (6.98%).

Annual inflation as of the end of August stood at 10.5% — noticeably higher than last year and lower than in the three previous years.

Food prices rose by 0.5% in the month. Vegetables saw a significant increase (5%) as well as meat (3.9%), while fruits and nuts became nearly 10% cheaper. Watermelon prices dropped by a third, melons by 28%, and grapes by 27%.

Annual food inflation was 2.8%, with meat products showing the highest price increase (+8.5%). Meanwhile, vegetables became 17.5% cheaper, and oil and fat products decreased by 2%.

Cabbage prices halved, cucumbers and watermelons dropped by more than 40%, and onions, carrots, and eggplants by about a third. Egg prices decreased by 12%, and sunflower oil by 1%.

In August, food prices increased by 0.7%, and on an annual basis, the growth accelerated to 8.6%. The price dynamics for clothing (0.2% and 6%), footwear (0.3% and 5.7%), and furniture (0.6% and 5.7%) remained close to the levels of previous months.

Household appliances rose in price by 0.6% (7% annually), electronics by 0.7% (1.5%). The price increase for medicines slowed to 0.8%, with the annual figure at 23.4%.

Propane prices rose by 20% in a month (32.7% annually). The increase in methane prices in August was more modest (4% with 39% annually), and gasoline prices slightly decreased (-0.2% and 15%).

The growth in service prices slowed further — 0.4% for the month and 27.6% annually. Prices in the catering sector continued to rise (1.5% and 12.6%), while they stabilized in the hospitality sector (17.7% annually).

Housing rental prices increased by 0.1%. The annual figure was 9.1%, with only a 3.1% increase since the beginning of the year. Car and train transportation became more expensive by 0.6% (44% and 14.2% annually, respectively), while air travel rose by 1% (5.9%).