The CNB comments on the May 2003 inflation figures

9.6.2003

 

The monthly and annual stagnation in consumer prices in May constituted a slight downward deviation from the CNB's April forecast.

The CNB preliminarily associates the rather faster-than-predicted rise in food prices with the usual seasonal volatility (fruit, vegetables and potatoes). The decline in transport prices is linked with oil prices and the appreciation of the koruna's exchange rate against the dollar. The developments in other price categories remain at the lower boundary of those expected and are signalling no risks of a stronger inflation upturn. The ongoing low-inflation environment continues to reflect the still strongly anti-inflationary domestic and foreign cost factors, which are unwinding very slowly.

Alice Frišaufová
CNB spokesperson