Statistics portal STATEC today revealed that consumer prices fell by 1.1% in the month of July 2015 as compared to the previous month, suggesting the phenomenon of summer sales as a major factor.
STATEC reported that this decrease, as in the case of other years, is a result of price reductions offered during the summer sales. The prices of the sector 'Clothing and footwear' yielded 14.6%, although prices for clothes and shoes remained stable compared with the month of July of the previous year.
To a lesser extent, sales were also found to have affected other sectors such as furnishings, at -5.1%, and personal effects, at -3.0%. These declines are expected to be balanced out again in the coming month, when goods return to their original sales prices.
STATEC also commented on the recent decreases in petrol prices that have been announced by the Ministry of Economy in recent weeks, stating that petrol prices fell by 2.0% from June to July 2015. Heating fuel and town gas also fell by 5.2% and 1.5%, respectively. The price of pump diesel declined 2.3% whilst gasoline rose to 0.6%. An annual comparison revealed petroleum product prices remained lower than 10.5%.
However, the fall in prices for petrol products and sales items was reportedly balanced out by price increases in other sectors. Holiday departures and package holiday prices rose by 3.9%, and lodging experienced a similar raise, with apartment rent growing by 0.2%; waste water recovery by 2.9% and collection of household waste by 1.1%. Increased prices were also said to have been felt by those buying new cars.
STATEC stated that the underlying inflation rate experienced a growth earlier this year and reached +1.6% in July 2015, and the annual inflation rate was reported at +0.6% - a figure close to the level that was observed during the last two months.
Photo by STATEC
