Montenegro Annual Inflation Holds Steady

Montenegro’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.8% in July 2026 from 3.6% in June, marking the fastest pace in recent months. Price growth accelerated for food (2.2% vs 2.1%), clothing and footwear (2.3% vs 0.9%), restaurants and hotels (5.4% vs 4.4%), information and communication (1.1% vs 0.7%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (10.4% vs 5.6%), furnishings (3.8% vs 3.5%) and health (4.3% vs 3.5%). In contrast, inflation eased for housing and utilities (2.1% vs 2.8%), transport (10.6% vs 12.8%) and recreation and culture (1.4% vs 1.8%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.8%, accelerating from 0.4% in June. Meanwhile, the harmonised inflation rate increased to 3.9% from 3.6%.

Montenegro's annual inflation rate held steady at 3.6% in June 2026, unchanged from the previous month after easing from a three-month high of 3.8% in April. Price pressures were primarily driven by food prices, which edged up to 2.1% from 2% in the previous month, and transports costs accelerating to 12.8% from 10.7%. Additional upward pressure came from clothing and footwear (5.6% vs 5.3%), restaurants and hotels (4.4% vs 2.2%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (5.6% vs 5.3%), furnishings (3.5% vs 2.6%), health (3.5% vs 0.2%) and recreation and culture (1.8% vs 1.3%). In contrast, inflation for housing and utilities eased to 2.8% from 3%, while information and commucination costs slowed slitghtly to 0.7% from 0.8%. Meanwhile, insurence inflation remained steady at 2.7%. The harmonised annual inflation accelerated to 3.6% from 3.4%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.4%, matching the pace recorded in the previous month.

The annual inflation rate in Montenegro eased to 3.6% in May 2026 from 3.8% in the previous month. Price growth moderated across several categories, including food and non-alcoholic beverages (2% vs 2.7% in April), housing and utilities (3% vs 3.3%), restaurants and hotels (3.7% vs 3.9%), personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services (1.6% vs 3.2%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (5.3% vs 5.9%). At the same time, education prices remained unchanged, while deflation for clothing and footwear eased (-0.3% vs -1.3%). In contrast, inflation accelerated for transport (14.2% vs 12.3%), information and communication (0.5% vs 0.4%), and recreation, sports and culture (2.3% vs 2.2%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.4%, easing from a 1.4% increase in April and marking the softest monthly gain since February. Additionally, the annual harmonized inflation rate slowed slightly to 3.4% from 3.6% in the previous month.