Serbia one-year ahead inflation expectations drop in January

The one-year ahead expectations of the corporate sector declined as well, to 6.7% in January from 7.0% a month earlier, NBS said in a statement on Wednesday, citing the results of an Ipsos survey.

NBS added that according to the latest Bloomberg survey carried out in February, the one-year ahead inflation expectations for Serbia dropped to 4.2% from 4.3% a month earlier.

In addition, two- and three-year ahead inflation expectations of both the financial and corporate sectors are lower than their short-term expectations, signalling their anticipation of easing inflationary pressures in the coming period and of inflation's gradual return within the target band, NBS noted, citing the Ipsos survey.

In January, the financial sector expectations decreased for both periods, to 3.5% for two years ahead from 4.0% predicted in December, and to 3.3% for three years ahead from December's 3.4%. The medium-term corporate expectations remained flat at 5.0% for both periods.

Earlier in February, NBS said annual inflation is expected to return to the targeted range of 1.5% to 4.5% by the middle of 2024, and approach the target midpoint of 3% late in the year.

Annual consumer price growth slowed down to 6.4% in January, from 7.6% in December, Serbia's statistical office has said.