The actual rates of price growth were lower than the trajectory of the National Bank's forecast.
This is stated in the message of the NBU, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
In January 2023, consumer inflation in annual terms (y/y) slowed to 26.0% (in December 2022 - 26.6%).
In monthly terms, prices increased by 0.8%.
The actual rate of price growth was lower than the trajectory of the National Bank's forecast published in the Inflation Report for January 2023.
The deviation from the forecast is primarily due to a larger than expected supply of raw food products.
In addition, inflation was restrained by such factors as a stable situation on the foreign exchange market and improvement in inflation expectations, including thanks to the measures taken by the National Bank of Ukraine, as well as the further positive impact of the de-occupation of some regions of Ukraine.
On the other hand, fundamental inflationary pressure, expressed by the core inflation index, increased in January, although somewhat less than the NBU expected.
The main reason for such dynamics is the further growth of business production costs, in particular due to the shortage of electricity.
The price increase of processed food products slightly accelerated (up to 29.6% y/y).
Against the backdrop of a shortage of electricity, the prices of products with energy-intensive production: meat and oil products, butter, confectionery, soft drinks and canned goods grew faster.
The increase in the price of imported food products for long-term storage also accelerated due to higher demand and increased business costs, in particular logistics.
Sunflowerseed oil also rose in price faster against the backdrop of higher export prices.
On the other hand, thanks to the decrease in the cost of raw materials, the prices of pasta grew at a lower rate.
Dairy products also became more expensive due to the decrease in world prices and sufficient supply on the domestic market.
The growth of prices for non-food goods accelerated as expected (up to 22.3% y/y).
In particular, the prices of clothes and shoes, medicines, personal care products, household goods, electronics and cars increased at a higher rate.
This is due to the further depletion of stocks of imported products purchased before the July adjustment of the official exchange rate, and to the increase in business costs, in particular due to the need to purchase energy products and fuel for autonomous operation.
At the same time, the stable situation in the cash segment of the foreign exchange market, improvement in inflationary expectations and weak and uneven demand restrained the growth of prices for this category of goods.
The rate of growth of the cost of services increased (up to 15.5% y/y).
Medical, insurance and veterinary services, public catering services, Internet and cable TV became more expensive - also under the influence of the growth of business production costs.
The cost of the services of electricians and plumbers grew at a higher rate, which can be explained by the increase in demand for such services in conditions of electricity shortage.
On the other hand, price increases for gyms, driving courses, car parking, taxis and rental housing have slowed due to weaker demand.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in January 2023, consumer prices rose by 0.8%.
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