Consumer price growth in Ukraine in May 2022 slowed down to 2.7% from 3.1% in April and 4.5% in March, but exceeded 1.6% in February and 1.3% in January , the State Statistics Service (Gosstat) said on Thursday.
In May last year, inflation was 1.3%, so in annual terms, in May this year, it rose to 18% from 16.4% in April, 13.7% in March, 10.7% in February and 10% – following the results of January, the department indicated.
Core inflation over the past month also declined to 1.4% from 3% in April and 3.8% in March. However, taking into account 0.7% in May 2021 in annual terms, it increased to 13.7% from 13% in April, 10.5% in March, 8.2% in February and 7.6% – at the end of January.
Since the beginning of this year, for its first five months, inflation in Ukraine amounted to 13.9%, and the base – 9.6%, said the State Statistics Service.
The National Bank of Ukraine, as reported by its head Kirill Shevchenko, expected an increase in inflation in May up to 17%.
In the consumer market in May, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 2.7%. Most of all (by 14.3% and 11.5%) rice and fruit rose in price. Prices for fish and fish products, grain processing products, vegetables, soft drinks, and pasta increased by 5.9-3.2%. At the same time, prices for eggs fell by 21.2%, beef, sugar, and poultry meat fell by 2.5–0.9%.
Prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products increased by 3.9%, incl. for alcoholic beverages – by 6.4%, tobacco products – by 1.5%.
The decrease in prices in the healthcare sector by 0.9% was primarily due to the reduction in the cost of pharmaceutical products by 1.8%.
Transportation prices increased by 10.2% mainly due to the increase in the price of fuel and lubricating oils by 22.8%, as well as road passenger transport fares – by 6.7%.
In the field of communications, prices increased by 1.0%, due to a rise in the cost of postal services by 6.7% and telephone equipment by 2.7%.
As reported, in 2021 inflation in Ukraine rose to 10% from 5% in 2020 and 4.1% in 2019, while core inflation rose to 7.9% against 4.5% a year earlier.
