2023-04-07 12:36:38
schedule14:36 - April 7, 2023
The level of consumer prices has suffered a significant decrease throughout March. According to INSTAT, inflation has dropped to 5.3% from 7.1% in February of this year. Fuel prices, which were sold at lower levels in March compared to the period before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, had the main impact on reducing inflation. Currently, a liter of diesel in the country is sold for 184 Lek, while gasoline for 186 Lek. According to INSTAT, the prices of the “Transport” group, affected by fuels, decreased by -0.49%.
While the annual increase in prices in the month of March was mainly influenced by the group “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” which increased by 3.94%, followed by the group “Rent, water, fuel and energy” and “Furniture, home appliances and maintenance” of the house”.
But even in these groups, if we compare them with a month ago, a significant slowdown is found.
The decrease in inflation is a positive factor for the Albanian economy, but also an opportunity to reduce basic interest rates. During the last month, the basic interest rate reached 3%, giving a direct impact on the cost of loans. The Bank of Albania predicts that inflation will continue to decrease at a rapid pace in the remaining months to return to the objective set by the Central Bank in middle of next year./abcnews.al
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