In February, consumer inflation in Ukraine remained close to the National Bank’s projected trajectory, but core inflation accelerated to 13.4%, beating expectations due to rising business costs. About this informs press service of the National Bank of Ukraine.
Among raw food products, which rose in price by 13%, the prices of fruits, some livestock products, flour and cereals increased the most. This is explained by the consequences of low harvests last year. Prices for pork, chicken and sugar approached the level of partner countries against the background of stable exports.
At the same time, the increase in the price of vegetables slowed down somewhat due to the increase in imports, the arrival of a new greenhouse crop and the decrease in demand for certain products.
Prices for processed food products increased by 16.7% in February. The reason was the increase in the price of raw materials, an increase in the cost of electricity, wages and logistics. The prices of bread, oil, meat and dairy products increased the most. Some imported goods also became more expensive, in particular cheeses, tea, coffee and chocolate, which is connected with the increase in prices on world markets.
Growth in non-food prices accelerated to 4.4% year-on-year, although prices for clothing and footwear remained lower than last year. The rate of growth of the cost of services also accelerated somewhat and amounted to 14.3%.
The National Bank predicts that inflation will increase in the coming months due to the impact of last year’s low harvests and increased costs of enterprises for energy supply and wages.
However, in the second half of the year, inflation is expected to slow down thanks to the NBU’s measures to strengthen monetary policy and gradually reduce the impact of temporary factors. It is expected that by the end of the year, inflation will decrease to a single-digit level and approach the target of 5%.
