The growth rates of prices for fuel, services and raw materials exceeded the National Bank's forecasts in February
This is stated in the report of the NBU, the Ukrainian News agency informs.
It is noted that the actual rate of general inflation was slightly higher than the trajectory of the NBU's forecast, published in the January 2026 Inflation Report. Growth rates in prices for fuel, services, and raw foods exceeded forecasts, while the cost of processed foods grew somewhat slower than expected. At the same time, core inflation was in line with the NBU's forecast.
The annual growth rate of raw food prices accelerated to 9.6% year-on-year.
In February, the growth in raw food prices accelerated year-on-year for the second month in a row. This was primarily driven by an increase in the price of cucumbers and tomatoes amid rising prices for imported products, borscht vegetables, and an acceleration in the price of fruit, particularly bananas and citrus fruits. At the same time, a slowdown in the growth of pork and chicken prices limited price pressure.
Core inflation remained at 7.0% year-on-year.
The growth in processed food prices continued to decelerate to 9.9% year-on-year, in particular due to further stabilization of dairy prices due to increased competition from imports, as well as a slowdown in the growth of sunflower oil and confectionery prices.
Services inflation accelerated to 12.3% year-on-year. The main factor behind this trend was a rise in the price of mobile communications services, in particular due to the difficult situation in the energy sector.
The decline in prices for non-food products continued (-0.4% year-on-year).
The growth rate of administratively regulated prices slowed to 8.8% year-on-year.
The slowdown in administrative inflation in February was primarily due to a slowdown in the growth of prices for tobacco products and pharmaceuticals.
Fuel inflation accelerated rapidly – up to 8.0% year-on-year.
This dynamics primarily reflected the growth of European prices due to increased geopolitical tensions and the effects of the hryvnia depreciation. At the same time, prices for automotive gas (LPG) remained relatively stable in February due to low demand and a surplus of fuel on the market, which partially offset the rise in import prices.
Inflation remains moderate and close to the NBU's forecast. At the same time, the impact of pro-inflationary factors has increased over the past month, in particular due to rising geopolitical tensions in the world and increased volatility in energy prices. These and other factors that could potentially lead to a deviation of inflation from the forecast trajectory will be taken into account when making future monetary policy decisions.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in February 2026, inflation accelerated to 7.6% year-on-year. Month-on-month, prices rose by 1.0%.
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