While consumer prices stayed put in July over June, inflation on the annual level rose to 3.8%, the Statistics Office said in a press release on Tuesday.
Goods were 0.8% cheaper overall with semi-durable goods costing 7.6% less on average, durables were 0.5% cheaper, while the price of non-durable goods increased by 0.9%. Services, on the other hand, were 1.9% more expensive with package holidays experiencing the biggest hike (13.7%).
It was the package holidays that contributed the most to the inflation, adding 0.5 percentage points to the final number. Alcohol and tobacco added 0.3 percentage points, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.2), while prices of fuel and energy, and fruit, added 0.1 percentage points each. Meanwhile lower prices of clothing and shoes shaved 0.9 percentage points off the inflation rate, while vegetables eliminated 0.2 percentage points and transport costs eliminated an additional 0.1 percentage points. While sales resulted in lower prices of clothes (12.4%) and of shoes (10%), price of alcohol and tobacco rose by 5.2%, recreation and culture was 4.3% dearer, communication was 0.9% more expensive and running costs for flats were 0.8% higher.
Measured with the harmonised index of consumer prices, prices in July decreased by 0.1%. Compared to a month before, the annual price growth was at 4%, up 0.2 percentage points, while the 12-month average price growth was at 2.8%.
The annual inflation of the eurozone countries meanwhile stood at 1.9% in June, according to latest Eurostat data.
The Institute for Macroeconomic Development and Analysis (IMAD) said that the prices stabilised in July, as expected. "We still call on the government to consistently implement the agreed economic policies," said IMAD acting director Bostjan Vasle.
The rise in the inflation rate was mainly caused by faster-than-expected growth of goods, while the price of oil still remains some US$ 20 higher per barrel than at the beginning of the year, Vasle said. According to Vasle, the growth of package holidays prices could have been caused by a surge in demand, also the consequence of a favourable economic situation.
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