Serbia: Inflation climbs higher in December
Consumer prices increased 0.5% month-on-month in December, down from the 0.2% rise in November. The reading was driven by a sharp rise in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, and housing and utilities. Conversely, prices for transport, restaurant and hotels, and communication fell in the month.
Inflation rose to 1.9% in December from 1.5% in November, edging further within the lower half of the Central Bank’s target band of 3.0% plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. On the other hand, core inflation—which excludes the more volatile components energy, food, alcohol and tobacco—edged down to 1.1% in December from 1.2%. On the whole, annual average inflation clocked in at 1.9% in 2019, down from 2.0% in 2018.