Stats: Monthly Inflation Up to 5.8 percent in December 2021 (2)

Bratislava, January 14 (TASR) - Monthly inflation rose to 5.8 percent in December 2021, fuelled mainly by rising food prices, construction materials and, lately, also newspapers, the Statistics Office reported on Friday. The figure amounts to the highest monthly inflation spike since December 2004. Compared to December 2020, prices were higher in all 12 monitored sectors. The inflation was driven most by more expensive food, with a year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 6.3 percent, which was the highest in 2021. Year-round, the highest month-on-month rates were recorded for bread and cereals (8.3 percent), milk and cheese (6.5 percent) as well as oils and fats (18.5 percent), and meat (3.3 percent). Soft drinks grew at a slower pace than in November. Prices were also affected by transport, namely fuel prices, which rose by 25.2 percent in December. Prices of transport services were also higher, as well as for the purchase of motor vehicles and bicycles. The rise in prices in the housing and energy sectors, which account for the highest share of Slovak household expenditure, reached 4.2 percent. "The development was supported on the one hand by the continuing rise in prices of building materials in imputed rents (a y-o-y increase of 12.5 percent) as well as services for maintenance and repair of the dwelling (by 12.3 percent)," the statisticians reported. The year-on-year rise in December inflation was also influenced by higher prices in restaurants and hotels, especially significantly higher prices in canteens since September, and the growth in prices for catering services in restaurants and cafés also contributed to this; 6.6 percent more was paid for them than a year ago. To a lesser extent, higher prices for newspapers and periodicals, which reached a y-o-y increase of 14.2 percent in December, as well as prices for furnishings and carpets, also contributed to the level of inflation. am/mcs