The annual inflation rate rose to 5.14% in December 2024, from 5.11% in November, according to data published on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
Food products recorded an average annual increase of 5.09%, non-food items 4.38%, and services 7.10%.
However, throughout last year, basic food items had much smaller price increases compared to previous years or even price reductions (flour, cornmeal, potatoes), according to Biziday:
- Alcoholic beverages +7%
- Meat +4%
- Milk +4%
- Bread +2.6%
For non-food items, price increases were generally higher than for food, but the average was lower due to the weight of energy and gas, which became cheaper:
- Clothing +11%
- Chemical articles +9%
- Fuels +5%
- Gas -11%
- Electricity -1.2%
Services saw the highest increase (+7%), with rents and public utilities experiencing above-average rate hikes:
- Courier services +18%
- Water/sewerage/sanitation +11%
- Rent +10.5%
- Restaurants +10%
- Medical services +9.5%
- Transport +5%
- Telecommunications -3.5%
The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania decided in November not to change the monetary policy rate and forecasted a pronounced inflation fluctuation in the first half of 2025.