Prague [Czech Republic], November 11: Inflation in the Czech Republic showed signs of easing up in October, decreasing to 15.1 percent from a high of 18 percent September, according to data published on Thursday by the Czech Statistical Office (CSU).
Consumer prices fell by 1.4 percent month-on-month mainly thanks to the government's actions, the saving tariff measure aimed at easing the burden on households. The office said that this helped pull electricity prices down 53.9 percent from the previous month.
Commenting on the CSU data, the Czech National Bank (CNB) said that inflation is still above the upper band of its tolerance threshold: food prices, for instance, still rose higher than expected in October.
The CNB predicts that inflation will come down to single-digit levels by the middle of next year in the wake of its tighter monetary policy.
Inflation has been a major rallying point for the political opposition, with several protests being held in the country since September. The Czech government in August approved a 177 billion-Czech crown (7.4 billion-U.S. dollars) inflation aid package earmarked for households and businesses. Part of this plan included the so-called austerity energy tariff that gives direct monetary aid to energy users.
This was followed up in September by a plan to cap electricity price at a maximum of six Czech crowns per kilowatt-hour (kWh), and gas price at a maximum of three crowns per kWh.
In its November macroeconomic forecast, the Czech Ministry of Finance said Wednesday the country's inflation is expected to fall significantly in the fourth quarter and bring down the annual average to 15 percent. In 2023, average inflation could decrease further to 9.5 percent. (1 Czech crown = 0.042 U.S. dollars).
Source: Xinhua
