Romanian August Inflation Rate Rises to One-Year High

Romanian inflation quickened for a third month in August to the fastest in a year as a drought pushed up food costs and the leu fell to a record low.

The inflation rate rose to 3.9 percent, compared with 3 percent in July, the Bucharest-based National Statistics Institute said today by e-mail. The figure exceeded the 3.7 percent median estimate of eight economists in a Bloomberg survey. Prices increased 0.5 percent from the previous month.

Inflation in the eastern European country may accelerate this year more than the central bank’s 3.2 percent forecast due to political turmoil that plunged the leu to a record low and a drought that boosted prices for imports and food, Governor Mugur Isarescu said Aug. 6. This year’s rate is likely to stay within the bank’s target of 2 percent to 4 percent, he said.

Food prices rose 3.3 percent in August from a year earlier, compared with a 1.2 percent gain in July, the institute said. Price growth for non-food items accelerated to 3.9 percent, compared with 3.4 percent in July.

Industrial output expanded a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent in July from a year earlier, after a 1.4 percent gain in June, the institute said in a separate release today. Output rose 1.1 percent on the month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Irina Savu in Bucharest at isavu@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at jagomez@bloomberg.net