Prices in Albania? Twice as expensive as EU countries in November

In November last year, the average inflation in the European Union was 10.1 percent, while in Albania it was 7.9 percent.

In November of this year, the average inflation in the EU reached 2.4%, while in Albania the indicator was 3.9 percent. As the data show, the average inflation in the EU has fallen at a much faster rate than in Albania, which is being ranked this end of the year among the countries with the highest inflation in the EU.

More detailed data show that the high inflation in the EU, which was caused after the war in Ukraine mainly by high energy prices, stabilized after the fall in prices.

In Albania, inflation is driven by the structural problems of the country's economy, where production, especially food, is in a lower supply than demand, making inflation resistant even though the Bank of Albania is following a tightening course of monetary policy.

According to INSTAT, the annual change in the consumer price index in November 2023 is 3.9%, a year ago this change was 7.9%. The monthly change of the consumer price index in November 2023, compared to October 2023, is -0.2%, while in the EU -0.4%. The annual price increase in November was mainly influenced by the "Food and non-alcoholic beverages" group with +2.52 percentage points, followed by the "Rent, water, fuel and energy" group with +0.37 percentage points.

The prices of the "Furniture, home appliances and home maintenance" group increased by +0.36 percentage points. Prices of the group "Hotels, cafes and restaurants" with +0.19 percentage points.

The prices of the "Alcoholic beverages and tobacco" group increased by +0.17 percentage points. Prices of the group "Various goods and services" with +0.16 percentage points. "Entertainment and culture" group awards with +0.14 percentage points.

The prices of the group "Clothes and shoes" with +0.10 percentage points. The prices of the group "Educational service" with +0.08 percentage points. The prices of the "Health" group increased by +0.04 percentage points.

The prices of the group "Communication" with +0.02 percentage points. The prices of the "Transport" group have contributed with -0.25 percentage points.

Compared to the month of November 2022, the largest increase in prices is observed in the group "Food and non-alcoholic beverages" with 7.1%, followed by the groups "Entertainment and culture" with 6.0%, "Furniture, home appliances and home maintenance" ” with 4.8%, “Hotels, cafes and restaurants” with 4.3%, “Alcoholic beverages and tobacco” with 3.5%, “Clothing and shoes” with 2.9%, “Various goods and services” with 2.8%. Also, the prices in the "Educational service" groups changed by 2.6%, "Rent, water, fuel and energy" by 1.9%, "Health" by 1.0% and "Communication" by 0.5%.

On the other hand, the prices of the "Transporti" group decreased by 4.0%. Within the food group, the prices of the subgroup "vegetables including potatoes" increased by 21.2%, followed by the subgroups "fruit" by 9.3%, "milk, cheese and eggs" by 8.3%, "meat" by 7 ,1%, "fish" with 2.7%, "sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and sweets" with 2.6%, etc.

Compared to October 2023, the prices of the group "Entertainment and culture" decreased by 0.9%, followed by the groups "Food and non-alcoholic beverages" by 0.4%, "Transportation" by 0.3%, "Furniture, equipment" house and house maintenance" with 0.2% and "Communication" with 0.1%. On the other hand, the prices of the group "Clothing and shoes" increased by 0.2%, followed by "Rent, water, fuel and energy" and "Miscellaneous goods and services" by 0.1% each.