Bulgarian Inflation Steady At 4.0%

(RTTNews) - Bulgaria's consumer price inflation remained stable in March after accelerating to a 14-month high in the previous month, data from the National Statistical Institute showed on Monday.

The consumer price index, or CPI, climbed 4.0 percent year-over-year in March, unchanged from February.

Inflation based on transportation eased to 0.5 percent from 2.1 percent, while clothing and footwear prices dropped by 1.4 percent.

On the other hand, the annual price growth in housing and utilities accelerated to 6.2 percent from 5.6 percent. Similarly, prices for food products and soft drinks increased at a faster pace of 5.3 percent versus 4.6 percent in February.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in March, slower than the 0.6 percent increase in the prior month.

EU-harmonized inflation also rose marginally to 4.0 percent in March from 3.9 percent in February. Month-on-month, the harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, increased 0.3 percent.