Last week, the State Statistics Service announced that consumer inflation accelerated to 7.5% annually in August from 5.4% in July. In monthly terms, prices increased by 0.6%. However, the NBU noted that the actual price growth rate was slightly higher than the trajectory forecasted by the regulator, and fundamental inflationary pressure intensified more than predicted.
Faster inflation was due to worse harvests and the impact of higher business costs for raw materials, energy, and wages. Price pressure was also supported by carryover effects from the weakening of the hryvnia exchange rate in previous months, the National Bank explained. According to the regulator, inflationary pressure will persist in the following months for the same reasons.
“The NBU’s monetary policy will continue to be aimed at maintaining inflation at a moderate level this year and returning it to the 5% target in the following years,” the National Bank emphasized.
This will be facilitated by the NBU’s measures to protect hryvnia incomes and consumer savings from inflation and ensure the currency market’s stability.