Serbian inflation 2 percent in first half of year

Serbian inflation 2 percent in first half of year

BELGRADE -- Inflation stood at two percent in the first half of 2014 with the monthly rise of consumer prices at 0.1 percent, said the Serbian Ministry of Trade.

Price hikes were higher in January and April, when compared to February, May and June, while prices dropped by 0.3 percent in March, the analysis notes.

According to the ministry, In the first half of 2014, the price rises were the lowest in the last seven years, although the country faced a deflation in June 2011, and prices did not change in June 2009.

The ministry underlined that, in the first half of the year, the change in prices was mostly triggered by the prices of processed and unprocessed food, cigarettes and beverages, and then the prices of products and services of local self-government, medicines and gas for households.

These prices changed, primarily because of the rise in the value added tax (VAT) from 8 to 10 percent, and the harmonization of excise taxes with the consumer price increase.