Ukraine: Inflation eases in January

Consumer prices rose 1.0% month-on-month in January, ticking up slightly from December’s 0.8% increase. According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the result largely reflected higher prices for food, as well as for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which more than offset lower prices for clothing and footwear.

Inflation moderated from 9.8% in December to 9.2% in January, marking the lowest reading since September 2018. As a result, inflation edged down closer to the Central Bank’s 6.5% plus or minus 2.0 percentage points target range. In a similar fashion, annual average inflation continued to ease in January, coming in at a near two-year low of 10.6% (December: 11.0%).

Ukraine Inflation Forecast

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect inflation to end 2019 at 7.7%, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2020, the panel sees year-end inflation easing to 6.5%.