Industrial goods continue to rise in price, while the growth of service costs slows down.

Consumer prices in August increased by 0.53%. This is slightly lower than last year (0.54%) and slightly higher than in 2022 (0.52%), according to the Statistics Agency.

Since the beginning of the year, inflation has reached 5.5%. The pace of price growth has increased compared to the same period in 2023 (3.8%), but remains below the level of two years ago (6.98%).

Annual inflation as of the end of August stood at 10.5% — noticeably higher than last year and lower than in the three previous years.

Food prices rose by 0.5% in the month. Vegetables saw a significant increase (5%) as well as meat (3.9%), while fruits and nuts became nearly 10% cheaper. Watermelon prices dropped by a third, melons by 28%, and grapes by 27%.

Annual food inflation was 2.8%, with meat products showing the highest price increase (+8.5%). Meanwhile, vegetables became 17.5% cheaper, and oil and fat products decreased by 2%.

Cabbage prices halved, cucumbers and watermelons dropped by more than 40%, and onions, carrots, and eggplants by about a third. Egg prices decreased by 12%, and sunflower oil by 1%.

In August, food prices increased by 0.7%, and on an annual basis, the growth accelerated to 8.6%. The price dynamics for clothing (0.2% and 6%), footwear (0.3% and 5.7%), and furniture (0.6% and 5.7%) remained close to the levels of previous months.

Household appliances rose in price by 0.6% (7% annually), electronics by 0.7% (1.5%). The price increase for medicines slowed to 0.8%, with the annual figure at 23.4%.

Propane prices rose by 20% in a month (32.7% annually). The increase in methane prices in August was more modest (4% with 39% annually), and gasoline prices slightly decreased (-0.2% and 15%).

The growth in service prices slowed further — 0.4% for the month and 27.6% annually. Prices in the catering sector continued to rise (1.5% and 12.6%), while they stabilized in the hospitality sector (17.7% annually).

Housing rental prices increased by 0.1%. The annual figure was 9.1%, with only a 3.1% increase since the beginning of the year. Car and train transportation became more expensive by 0.6% (44% and 14.2% annually, respectively), while air travel rose by 1% (5.9%).