We are on par with Europe for expensive prices. EUROSTAT confirms August inflation 2.4 percent

The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices, which measures price growth according to the methodology of the 'European Statistics Agency', in August 2024 is recorded at 2.4%. From the data, we recall that the inflation for the same month of this year according to the methodology of 'INSTAT' is 2.0%. We recall that in both cases inflation is calculated by the same institution, but there are small differences due to the weight given to each group in the inflation rate.

Compared to other European countries, Albania is equal to the average border of the European Union. This is confirmed by the figures of this indicator for the month of August, where it results that the average price increase in Europe for the same month is recorded at 2.4%. There are a number of countries that equaled the EU average for the month of August, among which we can mention Austria, Malta, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, the countries with the highest price rate in Europe are Romania with 5.3%, Serbia with 4.4% and Iceland with 4.3%. At the regional level, Montenegro performs better than Albania with a price increase rate of up to 2%. On the other hand, inflation in North Macedonia is estimated at 3.1%.

If we are going to talk about the changes of the main groups, the data show that the biggest price increase of 4.3% is observed in the "Educational service" group, followed by the "Alcoholic drinks and tobacco" groups with 3.6%, "Clothing and shoes" with 3.5% and "Food and non-alcoholic beverages" and "Entertainment and culture" with 3.3% each. On the other hand, "Miscellaneous goods and services" increased by 2.3%, "Furniture, home appliances and maintenance" by 2.2%, "Hotels, cafes and restaurants" by 2.1%, "Health" by 1.9%, "Rent, water, fuel and energy" with 1.5%, "Communication" with 0.6%. Meanwhile, the prices of the "Transporti" group decreased by 1.6%.