Romania's inflation in March hits 18-year high

Romania's annual inflation in March reached 10.2 percent, hitting a record high since 2004, according to data published on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

The inflation rate passed the 10-percent threshold for the first time in the last 18 years, with prices for gas, potatoes, and fuels seeing the biggest increase.

Gas prices rose by 46 percent compared with March 2021, the biggest increase among all products, while that of potatoes went up 36 percent and fuels up 34 percent, according to the INS.

Compared with the same period of last year, non-food goods became more expensive, rising by about 11 percent. Food in March climbed up a year-on-year 11.2 percent, and services up 6.5 percent.

Consumer prices in March 2022 increased by 1.9 percent from the previous month, and by four percent compared to December 2021.

The annual inflation in March exceeded the forecast made by the National Bank of Romania, which expected a double-digit rate only in April, said Adrian Vasilescu, adviser to the governor of the central bank, adding that fuels were to blame.

According to Vasilescu, also a strategy consultant at the bank, as long as the world is in an energy crisis and the unexpected conflict in Ukraine is still going on, it is "very difficult to take a look into the future."