Romania output price inflation eases, retail sales fall in March

Romania’s producer price index increased 4.5% on an annual basis in March, notably slower than the 5.4% gain seen in February, the National Institute of Statistics said Wednesday. Producer prices in the domestic market grew at a slower rate of 5.9% in March than 6.5% in February. At the same time, the rate of growth in prices in the non-domestic market slowed sharply to 1.8% from 3.2%. Output prices in the intermediate goods industry and capital goods industry rose 2.2% and 2.7%, respectively from a year earlier. Prices of consumer goods and energy products advanced 7.8% and 6.1%, respectively. Output prices dropped 0.4% compared to February. Prices in the domestic market and the foreign market dropped 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively. Separately, the Bucharest-based agency said Romania’s retail sales decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.6% month-on-month in March. Year-on-year, trade in the retail sector, on an unadjusted basis, fell by 3.6%.