January 13 (SeeNews) - Romania will end 2023 with a single-digit inflation, as the inflationary cycle has ended, finance minister Adrian Caciu said.
"All calculations lead me to single-digit inflation territory at the end of 2023, assuming that the absence of additional hazardous events," Caciu said during a talk-show broadcast by Euronews Romania. Starting March, the inflation rate "will drop considerably", he added.
"This year we focused on offsetting the effects of inflation, trying to combat the erosion of purchasing power. 2023 will be a year of recovery for purchasing power, we hope to reach the pre-pandemic level," the finance minister commented.
According to the minister, domestic consumption has decreased due to high prices but prices are starting to go down.
Latest data from the statistics office released on Thursday indicated that final household consumption volume rose by 3.3% on the year in the third quarter of 2022. In the second quarter of last year, final household consumption volume rose by 6%, earlier statistical data showed.
Caciu also reaffirmed the ministry's estimates for a gross domestic product growth of over 5% last year.
Romania’s consumer prices rose by 16.37% on the year in December, compared to an increase of 16.76% in November, the national statistical office, INS, said on Friday. The average consumer price inflation over the last 12 months was 13.8%.
In November, Romania's central bank raised the inflation forecast to 11.2% at the end of 2023, up from 7.5% forecast in August, due to supply side risks amplified by the war in Ukraine.
(1 euro=4.9359 lei)