NUCLEAR POWER IN BELARUS AND WORLDWIDE
MINSK, 30 April (BelTA) – Annual inflation in Q1 2020 was accelerated due to the temporary unfavorable impact of external factors, BelTA learned from a survey released by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).
In March consumer prices rose by 4.9% year on year while this year's target has been set at 5% at most. The faster annual inflation was driven by dynamics of the core inflation. The annual growth rate of controlled prices and tariffs stayed on par with the previous quarter, the NBRB said.
The high demand for food with a long shelf life as well as for certain essential commodities contributed heavily to the higher core inflation in Q1 2020. The high demand was prompted by uncertainty about the future situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The weakening of the Russian ruble and the consequent weakening of the Belarusian ruble fueled the growth of devaluation expectations and inflation expectations. Due to these factors core inflation reached 4% in March year on year (3.5% in December 2019).
The growth of prices for fruits and vegetables slowed down in Q1 2020, with prices for these commodities 4% up in March year on year (8.9% up in December 2019). Meanwhile, prices for fruits kept growing ahead of projections – over 20% up by the end of Q1 2020.
According to the central bank, the homogeneity of the growth of consumer prices deteriorated a bit amid the higher inflation in late Q1 2020. The share of goods and services, prices for which and tariffs on which dropped or grew by less than 5% year on year, amounted to 67% in March (71% in December 2019).
