Romania: Inflation declines in April
Latest reading: Inflation inched down to 4.8% in April from March’s 4.9%, falling short of market expectation but remaining above the Central and Eastern Europe average. The marginal decline reflected softer price pressures for non-food goods and services, which broadly offset a faster rise in food costs.
As a result, the trend pointed down, with annual average inflation edging down to 5.0% in April (March: 5.1%).
Lastly, consumer prices rose 0.07% in April over the previous month, which was below the 0.27% rise logged in March. April’s result marked the softest rise in prices since May 2024.
Panelist insight: Commenting on the outlook, Emerging Market Watch analysts stated:
“Consumption will probably keep on tempering down, but a modest excess demand persists, so producers might have room to transfer to final prices part of the negative effects of tax breaks’ elimination in some fields. Financial markets turmoil in May caused by the presidential election result in the first round will probably exert some upward pressure on inflation over currency depreciation.”