TIRANA, Sept. 8 /ATA/ – Albania’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.2% in August from 2.3% a year earlier, driven mainly by higher transport, housing and food costs, official data showed on Tuesday.

Consumer prices increased by 0.1% from July, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT).

Food and non-alcoholic beverages made the largest contribution to annual inflation, adding 0.95 percentage points, followed by transport with 0.79 percentage points and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with 0.76 percentage points.

Transport recorded the biggest annual price increase, at 12%, followed by recreation, sport and culture at 5.4%, and insurance and financial services at 4.6%.

Prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose 3.7% year-on-year, while food and non-alcoholic beverages, furniture, household equipment and routine household maintenance, and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services each increased by 2.8%.

Clothing and footwear recorded the sharpest annual decline, with prices falling 3.2%, followed by information and communication, down 1%.

On a monthly basis, transport prices posted the largest increase, rising 3.9% from July. Prices also increased by 0.2% for restaurants and accommodation services and by 0.1% for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.

These increases were partly offset by lower prices for clothing and footwear, down 1.1%, food and non-alcoholic beverages, down 0.4%, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, down 0.3%, and furniture, household equipment and routine household maintenance, down 0.1%.

The data showed that food, transport and housing and energy costs remain among the main drivers of inflation in Albania.

/e.xh/a.f/u.sh/