Serbia: Inflation increases past Central Bank’s midpoint target in April
According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, consumer prices rose 0.7% over the prior month in April, up from the 0.4% increase logged in March. The uptick was chiefly driven by a surge in prices for clothing and footwear; food and non-alcoholic beverages; communications; and transport.
Inflation accelerated to 3.1% in April from 2.8% in March, finally exceeding the midpoint of the Central Bank’s target range of 3.0% plus or minus 1.5 percentage points after undershooting it for over a year. Core inflation, which excludes prices for volatile items such as food, energy, alcohol and cigarettes, meanwhile ticked up from 1.3% in March to 1.4% in April. Annual average inflation also increased to 2.3%, from 2.2% in March.