Serbian central bank says inflation stable

“According to SORS data, y-o-y inflation stayed unchanged in November relative to October, measuring 2.8%,” a press release said, adding that “m-o-m growth in core inflation was equally driven by products and services. Y-o-y, core inflation slightly stepped up, to 4.1%”.

“Inflation amounted to 0.2% and was largely driven by the rising core inflation (0.6%) and petroleum product prices (2.5%). Lower prices of food and non-aloholic beverages (-0.7%) worked in the opposite direction,” it added.

According to the NBS, food and non-alcoholic drink prices saw a m-o-m drop for the third month in a row. “The prices of fruit fell by 3.5%, vegetables by 0.5%, and processed food by 0.3% on average. Relative to November last year, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices receded by 0.7% on average,” the NBS claimed.

It said that energy prices rose 1.1% in November, led chiefly by the surging prices of petroleum products while y-o-y, energy prices increased by 5.1%.

Inflation is expected to remain stable in the coming months, around the midpoint of the NBS target tolerance band (3±1.5%), the NBS said.