Year-on-year, prices increased the most for alcoholic beverages & tobacco (+13.0 percent in April from 10.6 percent in March), followed by food & non-alcoholic beverages (+3.1 percent from +2.3 percent); clothing and footwear (+0.7 percent from -0.2 percent); housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels (+2.3 percent from +1.9 percent); furnishings, household equipment & routine maintenance (+2.3 percent from +0.2 percent), health (+5.0 percent from +3.6 percent); communication (+2.3 percent from -0.9 percent); recreation & culture (+1.5 percent from +0.6 percent); education (+2.6 percent from +2.2 percent); restaurants and hotels (+4.3 percent from +2.8 percent) and miscellaneous goods & services (+4.1 percent from +1.5 percent). In contrast, cost of transport declined by 4.8 percent, following from a 4.9 percent drop in the preceding month.
Among food & non-alcoholic beverages, customers had to pay more for all categories except fish & seafood and fruits. Food at home increased by 2.7 percent in April (from +2.0 percent in March), followed by rice, bread & other cereals (+1.9 percent from 1.0 percent); meat (+2.8 percent from 1.0 percent); milk & eggs (+7.1 percent from +5.8 percent); oils & fats (+0.6 percent from +0.1 percent); vegetables (+2.3 percent from +1.2 percent); sugar, jam, honey, chocolate & confectionery (+2.0 percent from +0.8 percent); food away from home (+3.7 percent) and coffee, tea & non-alcoholic beverages (+2.3 percent from +0.6 percent). Meanwhile, prices moderated for fish & seafood (+2.3 percent from +2.4 percent) and fruits (+1.5 percent from +1.8 percent).
On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 0.9 percent, the same pace as in the preceding month. Price increases were reported for all categories except furnishing, hoisehold equipment & routine maintenance. Alcoholic beverages & tobacco rose to 2.2 percent in April, followed by clothing and footwear (+0.8 percent); housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels (+0.4 percent); health (+1.9 percent); transport (+0.3 percent); communication (+3.1 percent); recreation & services (+0.9 percent); education (+0.6 percent); restaurants and hotels (+0.5 percent) and miscellaneous goods & services (+2.5 percent). In contrast, cost of furnishing, hoisehold equipment & routine maintenance declined by 0.3 percent.