The FINANCIAL — In October 2018 the Consumer Price Index increased by 0.3 percent compared to the previous month, while the annual inflation rate amounted to 2.3 percent.
The monthly inflation rate was mainly influenced by price changes for the following groups:
Clothing and footwear: the prices in the group increased by 6.3 percent, contributing 0.2 percentage points to the overall CPI change. The prices increased for footwear (12.6 percent) and clothing (3.6 percent);
Transport: there was a 0.6 price increase in the group, contributing 0.07 percentage points to the overall CPI change. The prices increased for operation of personal transport equipment (1.1 percent);
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco: the prices increased by 0.7 percent, contributing 0.05 percentage points to the overall CPI change. The prices increased for tobacco (1.5 percent);
Health: the prices in the group increased by 0.6 percent, contributing 0.05 percent to the overall CPI change. In the mentioned period, the prices increased for the following subgroups: medical products, appliances and equipment (1.2 percent), out-patient services (0.3 percent) and hospital services (0.2 percent).
The annual inflation rate was mainly influenced by price changes for the following groups:
Transport: the prices in the group increased by 6.5 percent, with a relevant contribution of 0.86 per-centage points to the overall index growth. The prices within the group increased for operation of per-sonal transport equipment (10.3 percent) and purchase of vehicles (2.4 percent);
Health: the prices increased by 6.1 percent, which resulted in a 0.51 percentage point contribution to the overall annual inflation. The prices increased for the following subgroups: medical products, appliances and equipment (12.0 percent),
out-patient services (3.8 percent) and hospital services (2.3 percent);
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco: the prices in the group increased by 5.7 percent, with a relevant contribution of 0.39 percentage points to the annual inflation. The prices increased for the subgroup of tobacco (9.5 percent) and alcoholic beverages (1.9 percent);
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels: the prices increased by 4.4 percent, contributing 0.37 percentage points to the annual inflation. The prices increased for the subgroups of water supply and miscellaneous services relating to the dwelling (7.7 percent), electricity, gas and other fuels (4.2 per-cent) and maintenance and repair of the dwelling (2.5 percent).
