Ukraine consumer inflation stays at 10.2% in August

10 September 2021

Annual inflation in Ukraine amounted to 10.2% yoy in August, staying unchanged from the previous month, the State Statistics Service reported on Sept. 9. Ukraine’s consumer prices slid 0.2% m/m in August after inching up 0.1% m/m in July.

 

Food prices dropped 0.7% m/m in August after declining 0.1% m/m in July. The decline was due to lower prices for fruits and vegetables (-5.0% m/m and -18.3% m/m, respectively), sunflower oil (-1.0% m/m) and bread (-0.8% m/m). At the same time, prices for eggs jumped 18.0% m/m, sugar prices increased 3.6% m/m, and prices for meat grew 0.8%.

 

Prices for clothing and footwear dropped 3.0% m/m after sliding 5.2% m/m in July. At the same time, prices for transportation grew 0.8% m/m in August (after increasing 1.1% in July), driven by higher prices for fuel and lubricants as well as increased fares for railroad and automobile passenger transportation. In addition, prices for alcohol and tobacco increased 0.4% m/m.

 

Prices for housing and utility services increased up 0.6% m/m (the same growth as in July), driven mostly by a jump in prices for natural gas and housing maintenance.

 

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The decline of food prices continued in August amid an abundant seasonal supply of fruits and vegetables. The deflation was also supported by a long-lasting price decline trend for clothing and footwear supported by a stable exchange rate and lower demand. Meanwhile, the monthly growth of other consumer inflation components was close to the growth in the previous month.

 

We expect consumer inflation to strengthen in September. Then, it’s likely to cool amid the high comparative base of the previous year and finish the year at 9.5% YTD (vs. 5.0% YTD in 2020).