Inflation surge

After eight months of deceleration, the annual inflation rate has climbed from 38.2 percent in June to 47.83 percent in July, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on Aug. 3.

Consumer prices rose by 9.49 percent last month from June, when the monthly inflation was 3.92 percent.

Lending in Bulgaria remains high against the backdrop of another increase in interest rates by the ECB. The goal of the central bank is to reduce inflation to 2%, but the forecasts are that it will remain high for a long period of time, commented President Christine Lagarde.

Slovenia's annual inflation rate slowed to 6.1% in July, 0.8 percentage points lower than the month before, but data from the Statistics Office shows rising food prices remain a problem.

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 11.1% in a year, contributing 2 percentage points to the headline inflation rate, data released on 31 July shows.

German consumer confidence rose heading into August, a key survey showed yesrerday, as once red-hot inflation looked to be on the way back down.

Pollster GfK said its forward-looking survey of around 2,000 people rose to minus 24.4 points in August from minus 25.2 points in July.

Across the developed world, we are hearing the argument that high costs are "profit inflation," meaning that rising prices stem mainly from rising profit margins. This is confirmed by reputable economists at multinational banks like UBS and others, by the chief economist of the European Central Bank, Philip Lane, and by its president, Christine Lagarde.

It appears there is no end to food price hikes, as in just one month, June, increases of 2.1% were recorded compared to May 2023. Therefore, although the general consumer price index fell below 2% in June to 1.8%, so-called food inflation jumped to 12.2%.

Inflation in Cyprus reached its lowest level in 25 months in June 2023 and stood at 1.9% on an annual basis, mainly due to the decline in food prices.

According to the Statistical Service, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and thus inflation decreased in June 2023 by 0.34 points to 114.38 points, compared to 114.72 points in May 2023.

The annual inflation for May this year compared to May last year was 15.6%, according to national statistics.

The consumer price index in May compared to the previous month - April, was 101.2%, i.e. the monthly inflation was 1.2%. Inflation since the beginning of the year - May 2022 compared to December 2021, is 9.1%.