Bank of Estonia forecasts inflation to pick up again
Revised data from Statistics Estonia shows that prices rose by 3.5 percent last year. According to the central bank's forecast, inflation is expected to accelerate again this year.
Compared to previous years, last year's price increase was slower, but a 3.5 percent rise is still considered rapid and places Estonia among the top countries in the European Union in terms of inflation.
The main driver behind the price increase is higher taxes. Without these, Estonia would be closer to the EU average.
In the year prior, prices rose by nearly 10 percent and the year before that by as much as 20 percent.
Estonian central bank economist Lauri Matsulevitš expects inflation to pick up again this year.
"We anticipate a faster rate of price increases this year. While inflation stood at 3.5 percent last year, the latest forecast for this year puts it at 4.3 percent. Of that, around 1.5 to 1.6 percent will be driven by tax hikes and fiscal policy," Matsulevitš explained.
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Editor: Merili Nael, Marcus Turovski
