WASHINGTON: Bulgaria’s annual consumer price index (CPI) recorded 1.9 per cent inflation in June, after monthly figures showed 0.5 per cent deflation, according to data released by the National Statistical Institute (NSI). This was the second month in a row of decline in the annual inflation figure after six straight months of increases, which peaked at 2.6 per cent in April, the highest level reached by annual inflation since June 2013. In monthly terms, it was the fourth time in the past 12 months that consumer prices recorded deflation, with food and non-food prices down by 1.1 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively, compared to May, while services prices were 0.2 per cent higher.
Compared to June 2016, food prices were 4.2 per cent higher, while non-food prices grew by 1.1 per cent and services prices were up by 0.2 per cent. The harmonised CPI figure, calculated by NSI for comparison with European Union data, shrank by 0.2 per cent in June, while the annual harmonised CPI was up 1.1 per cent – the sixth consecutive month it recorded inflation after 41 months in deflationary territory. Food and beverage prices were 3.8 per cent up, on an annual basis, while the price of utilities and housing increased by 2.2 per cent and transportation costs were 0.2 per cent lower compared to a year earlier. The three categories account for about 48 per cent of the harmonised CPI basket.
