Annual inflation rate dropped to 7.2 percent in February

Aurel Dragan 13/03/2024 | 13:57

The annual inflation rate dropped in February 2024 to 7.23%, from 7.41% in January, in the conditions in which food goods rose in price by 4.48%, non-food goods by 7.82%, and services by 11%, according to the data of the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

“The consumer price index in February 2024 compared to January 2024 was 100.81%. The inflation rate since the beginning of the year (February 2024 compared to December 2023) was 1.9%. The annual inflation rate in February 2024 compared to February 2023 was 7.2%. The average rate of change in consumer prices in the last 12 months (March 2023 – February 2024) compared to the previous 12 months (March 2022 – February 2023) was 9.1%”, it is stated in the INS press release.

According to the cited source, the harmonized index of consumer prices in February 2024 compared to January 2024 was 100.78%. The annual inflation rate in February 2024 compared to February 2023 calculated on the basis of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) was 7.1%. The average rate of change in consumer prices in the last 12 months (March 2023 – February 2024) compared to the previous 12 months (March 2022 – February 2023) determined on the basis of the HIPC was 8.7%.

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) revised downwards, to 4.7%, the inflation forecast for the end of this year, from 4.8% in November, and anticipates that it will reach 3.5% at the end of 2025. The forecast trajectory was revised downward during 2024, in the context of the more favorable evolutions of the indicator in the recent period, especially in the food segment.