Moldova’s Inflation Rate Hits 10.8% as Fuel and Energy Prices Surge

Annual inflation in Moldova increased to 10.8% in October, up from 8.6% in September and 6.96% in August, reaching its highest level since June 2023. The latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that consumer prices rose sharply across all categories of goods and services, logos-pres.md reports. Moldova’s economy is facing another wave of inflationary pressure. Consumer prices continue to rise steadily, reflecting significant changes in regulated tariffs and higher costs of key resources. Inflation in the services sector remained the main driver, climbing to 18.1%, largely due to sharp increases in regulated tariffs for natural gas (+56.2%), heating (+33.7%), passenger transport (+31.6%) and electricity (+23.7%). Food inflation also accelerated, with prices rising by 6.4% mainly driven by vegetables (+15.8%), fruit (+9.2%), wheat flour, bread and vegetable oil (up 6.1% each), as well as milk and dairy products (+5.8%). Meanwhile, inflation for non-food goods reached 9.5%, largely due to higher prices for fuels and lubricants (+37.4%), including diesel (+82.0%) and petrol (+46.8%). Prices also increased for footwear, clothing, medicines and construction materials. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices rose by 2.7% in October, following a 1.7% increase in September.