Analytics, Inflation, Latvia, Markets and Companies

Linda Vildava, a junior economist with Swedbank Latvia, said that consumer prices in April 2018 might have grown 0.5% month-on-month which would make a 2.3% annual inflation. The main factors which pushed the consumer prices up compared to March will probably by the rising prices for clothing and footwear, food and various services, including health care, recreational and cultural as well as food services, she said.

SEB Banka's macroeconomic expert Dainis Gaspuitis said that consumer prices in Latvia this April probably increased 0.3-0.4% compared to March, resulting in annual price growth by 2.1-2.2%.

"Prices in April are likely to have grown at a slower rate than in March, and I do not expect any major changes in prices of the product groups. There should be an increase in prices of food, clothing and footwear as well as in prices of services but there will be no sharp changes in other groups, and heat energy prices will remain stable," he said.

The Latvian Central Statistical Bureau will publish the information about the consumer price changes in April on Thursday, May 10.

As reported, the average level of consumer prices in Latvia in March this year rose 1.2% from February 2018 and grew 2.2% compared to March 2017. In March 2018, the average 12-month inflation was 2.6% compared to the previous 12-month period.