September inflation decelerates
Greece’s consumer inflation eased to 4.6 percent year-on-year in September, from 4.7 percent in August, with a further deceleration on the cards for this month. Data from the National Statistics Service (NSS) showed that a drop in the cost of fuel and supermarket prices helped contain the index last month. «It was the fourth straight month in which supermarket prices were either steady or dropped,» said NSS chief Manolis Kontopyrakis. A breakdown of consumer price movements showed that public transport fares shot up 20 percent in September while prices of fresh vegetables and potatoes dropped 17.7 percent and 8.9 percent respectively. «Based on present circumstances regarding the prices of oil in international markets and supermarket goods, the consumer price index in October is expected to fall by at least 0.20 percent,» said Kontopyrakis. The government this week revised its inflation forecast for this year to an average of 4.5 percent from a previous projection of 3.5 percent.
