Consumer price growth in Ukraine in May 2023 accelerated to 0.5% from 0.2% in April after slowing down from 1.5% in March, 0.7% in February and 0.8% in January, the State Statistics Service reported on Friday.
At the same time, inflation of 2.7% was recorded in May 2022, therefore, year-over-year in May 2023, it decreased to 15.3% from 17.9% in April, 21.3% in March, 24.9% in February and 26.6% in December.
Underlying inflation fell to 0.3% last month from 0.5% in April and 1.3% in March, the State Statistics Service said. Taking into account the fact that in May last year, underlying inflation was 1.4%, year-over-year it also fell to 15.9% in May from 17.2% in April, 20.1% in March and 22 .7% in February.
Since the beginning of the year, inflation in the country reached 3.8%, and underlying inflation was 3.3%, the State Statistics Service said.
In the consumer market in May, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 0.9%. Most of all (by 8.7% and 5.6%) the prices of fruits and vegetables rose. Prices for meat and meat products, non-alcoholic drinks, fish and fish products, cheeses, butter grew by 1.7-0.2%. At the same time, prices for eggs fell by 22.7%, prices for processed grain products, lard, rice, sunflower oil, sugar, pasta, and milk dropped by 3.2–0.2%.
Prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products rose by 1.2%, including for tobacco products by 1.3%, and alcoholic beverages by 1.2%.
Clothing and footwear fell in price by 1.6%, in particular footwear by 1.9%, and clothing by 1.4%.
The 0.8% increase in prices in the healthcare sector was primarily due to a 1.0% increase in the cost of pharmaceutical products.
Transportation prices fell by 1.1% mainly due to a 2.5% reduction in the cost of fuel and lubricants.
As reported, in April, the National Bank of Ukraine improved its inflation forecast for this year from 18.7% to 14.8%, including in the second quarter, the NBU expected it to decline to 14.5%.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that he had left for Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“On his way to Ukraine to meet with President Zelensky and to present a program to help clean up the disastrous Kakhovka reservoir spill,” he wrote on his Twitter account Monday.
According to the report, Grossi intends to assess the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP and conduct a rotation of the IAEA mission with a reinforced composition.
As reported, after the Russians blew up the dam of the Kakhovska hydroelectric power plant and spilled the Kakhovska reservoir, Grossi announced the launch of a program of assistance to Ukraine. He noted that by using nuclear techniques, the IAEA will determine the impact of the flooding on drinking water, human health, soil and water management, as well as assess the integrity of critical infrastructure.
Odessa State University of Internal Affairs has announced its intention to conclude a contract with IC VUSO for insurance of real estate.
As it’s reported in the system of electronic public procurement Prozorro, the price offer of the company was 78,858 thousand UAH, which corresponds to the expected cost of purchasing services.
The company was the only bidder of the tender.
IC “VUSO” was founded in 2001. The company owns 50 licenses: 34 – for voluntary and 16 – for compulsory insurance, represented in all regions of Ukraine. It is a member of MTSBU and FSA, a member of the Agreement on direct settlement of losses and a member of the Nuclear Insurance Pool.
A chain of home appliances and electronics stores Comfy opened four new stores, expanding the network to 84 retail units.
According to CEO of Comfy Igor Khizhnyak, two new stores were opened in Kiev in Prospekt and Piramida shopping malls, and one store each in Lviv and Pryluki.
According to him, the company plans to further expand its network to 100 stores.
Till February 24 last year Comfy network had 97 stores. The owner of the chain is Comfy Trade LLC (Dnipro). According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the owner of “Comfy Trade” is “Comfy Holdings Limited” (Cyprus), the ultimate beneficiaries – Svetlana Gutsul and Stanislav Ronis.
According to Opendatabot, by the end of 2022, Comfi Trade received 2 million UAH of net profit, 16.5 billion UAH of income.
Mining companies in Ukraine in January-May this year, the export of iron ore raw materials (iron ore) in physical terms reduced by 55% compared to the same period last year – up to 6 million 846.487 thousand tons.
According to the statistics, released by the State Customs Service (SCS), over the period the currency proceeds from the export of iron ore amounted to $752.472 million.
Exports of iron ore products were mainly to Slovakia (29.08% in monetary terms), Czech Republic (25.06%) and Poland (21.42%).
During the first five months of this year, Ukraine imported iron ore products for $42 thousand in total volume of 68 tons. During this period, imports were carried out from Norway (57.14%), Italy (40.48%) and Sweden (2.38%).
As reported, in 2022, Ukraine reduced the export of iron ore products in kind by 45.9% compared to 2021 – up to 23 million 984.623 tons, foreign exchange earnings decreased by 57.8% to $2 billion 912.974 million.
Exports of iron ore products was carried out mainly to Slovakia (19.23% in monetary terms), Czech Republic (17.32%) and Poland (16.49%).
Last year Ukraine imported iron ore to the amount of $65 thousand in total 101 tons, while in 2021 – $184 thousand in the amount of 1.202 tons.
Imports were carried out from Norway (36.92%), the Netherlands (27.69%) and the UK (16.92%).
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi passed away at the age of 86, RAInews reported Monday.
Berlusconi died at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, where he was admitted last week. Italian media learned of the passing of the former prime minister from sources in his family – the death occurred at about 9:30 local time. There has been no word yet from the treating doctors.
Berlusconi’s children arrived at the San Raffaele clinic on Monday.
Stampa newspaper, for its part, notes that Berlusconi’s condition has not improved in recent days, and a sharp deterioration followed Monday morning.
Berlusconi, who has been battling leukemia, was hospitalized last Friday at the San Raffaele. At the time, his attending physicians, Alberto Zangrillo and Fabio Ciceri, noted that the decision to hospitalize him “was not due to a deterioration in his condition or to any medical concern.
From April 5 to May 19, 2023, 86-year-old Berlusconi was treated at San Raffaele.
Berlusconi’s Go Italy party is part of the ruling coalition now in power in the country.
Berlusconi has been prime minister of Italy four times – in 1994 -1995, 2001 – 2005, 2005 – 2006 and 2008 – 2011.
