Prices advanced faster: food and non-alcoholic beverages (30.97 percent vs 25.11 percent in December); hotels, cafes and restaurants (19.89 percent vs 19.81 percent); miscellaneous goods and services (29.63 percent vs 28.80 percent), and alcoholic beverages and tobacco (2.63 percent vs 2.39 percent). Meanwhile, prices went up softer for: housing and utilities (17.16 percent vs 23.73 percent); transportation (14.71 percent vs 15.97 percent); furnishing and household equipment (29.07 percent vs 31.36 percent); and clothing and footwear (12.47 percent vs 14.83 percent).
Annual core inflation rate, which excludes energy, food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and gold, declined to 19.02 percent in January from 19.53 percent in the previous month. It was the lowest inflation since August.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased 1.06 percent in January, following a 0.40 percent fall in December and compared to market expectations of a 1 percent rise. The sharpest increases were recorded for food and non-alcoholic beverages (6.43 percent), miscellaneous, goods and services (3.62 percent); health (3.56 percent), recreation and culture (3.18 percent), and communication (0.74 percent).
