The annual rate of inflation was 3.2 per cent in January, down from 3.6 per cent in December, the National Staistics Office said on Monday.

As in previous months, the largest upward impact was measured in the Food Index (+1.95 percentage points), while the largest downward impact was recorded in the Transport and Communication Index (-0.35 percentage points).

A government deal with importers and shop owners to reduce the price of selected food items by 15% came into force in February in an effort to scale back inflation. 

In January 2024, the largest upward impact on annual inflation was registered in the Food Index largely due to higher prices of vegetables. The second and third largest impacts were measured in the Other goods and services Index (+0.41 percentage points) and the Personal care and health Index (+0.34 percentage points), mainly on account of higher prices of cleaning products and articles of personal hygiene, respectively.

The downward impacts on annual inflation were registered in the Transport and communication (-0.35 percentage points), the Clothing and footwear Index (-0.03 percentage points) and the Recreation and culture Index (-0.02 percentage points), mainly reflecting lower prices of mobile phone services, garments and audio-visual equipment, respectively.