Statistics: Ukraine sees 3.5% inflation in April
Inflation in Ukraine in April 2016 to March 2016 accelerated to 3.5% from 1% March to February and 0.4% in February from January 2016, the State Statistics Service has reported.
"The weighty factor that pushed the April inflation up was a seasonal change in prices of natural gas by 48.8%. This boosted housing and utilities, power rates, prices of gas and other types of fuel by 20.1% in general," the service said.
Inflation in April 2016 year-over-year slowed to 9.8% against 20.9% recorded in the previous month and 32.7% in February 2016.
Since the beginning of the year, consumer prices have risen by 5.1%.
The service said in April compared with March prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 0.1%. Prices for cereals grew most of all (by 5.4%). Prices for bananas, pork, citrus, sunflower oil, butter rose by 3.9-1%. At the same time, prices for eggs fell significantly (by 15.2%), those for fat, sugar, apples, vegetables, rice and milk were down by 3.2-0.8%.
Prices for alcoholic drinks and tobacco goods rose by 2.8%, in particular for tobacco products by 3.5%, alcoholic drinks by 1.8%.
The rise in transport prices by 2.4% is due to higher prices for fuel and oils by 5.4%, rail transportation by 3.3%. Car prices declined by 2%.
As reported, the government of Ukraine and the National Bank forecast a slowdown in inflation to around 12%, with economy growth at about 1%, in 2016.
Growth in consumer prices in Ukraine in 2015 accelerated to 43.3% from 24.9% in 2014, while GDP fall accelerated to 9.9% from 6.6%, respectively.