Consumer price index up 3.1 percent in May
Consumer prices grew 3.1 percent in May year over year in Estonia, Statistics Estonia's flash estimate suggests.
Prices did not change compared to April.
Annual inflation came to 2.8 percent last month, meaning that growth of CPI has picked up more speed.
Lenno Uusküla, chief economist at Luminor, said that administrative measures, like VAT and excise hikes, continue to drive price advance, in addition to the decision to end free county-level public transport.
"With administrative measures excluded, our inflation matches that of Latvia but still outstrips Lithuania's," Uusküla noted.
"But even price advance of 1 percent is excessive, considering Estonia's continued recession and and weak position compared to other states, he added.
"Relative prices continue to adjust. Goods the prices of which exploded due to world market raw material price hikes are slowly becoming cheaper. Service prices continue to grow as they are largely unaffected by raw material prices while salary growth contributes considerable," the economist said.
Statistics Estonia will publish the full May CPI data on June 7.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
Source: Statistics Estonia
