New inflation hike as annual rate reaches 8% in March

The magnitude of the price increase for food and fuels in March has once again surprised analysts.

After a 0.6% increase in consumer prices in March, annual inflation accelerated to 8.01%, reaching the highest level since August 2008.

“Our forecasting inaccuracy involved fuel and food prices, which were higher than we had anticipated. As has been the case in the last six months, inflationary pressures largely came from the prices of food products, which accounted for a significant share of the consumer basket, 37.5%,” says Florentina Cozmâncă, RBS Bank economist.

Analysts on average expected a 7.8% annual rate, after the 0.5% price increase in March.

The price of potatoes jumped nearly 7% in March, sugar became 6% more expensive, the price of fresh fruit was up 5.3%, and the price of bread increased 1.13%.

Overall, food became 1.17% more expensive in March against February, while non-food prices went up 0.51% in March. Fuel prices soared 2.25%.

On the other hand, service tariffs fell slightly, by 0.34% amid an appreciation of the euro against the dollar.