Petroleum and food prices have the most impact on inflation, how to prevent further price increases?

Inflation in Serbia increased by 0.8 percent in March compared to February and it amounts to 9.1 percent, and consumer prices increased by 2.8 percent on average compared to December 2021. This is mostly influenced by petroleum and food prices.

The National Bank of Serbia states that more than two thirds of inflation fluctuations are still determined by the prices of food and energy products.

Petroleum price went up by about 50%

Milan Trajkovic, Deputy General Manager of the sector for economic research and statistics of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS), says that the average price of petroleum in March was US$ 115 per barrel, while its average price in December was about 75 dollars per barrel, which is an increase of more than 50%.

Trajkovic has specified for Radio Beograd 1 that, in addition to the price of petroleum products in Serbia, this is indirectly reflected in the prices of other products due to increased transport costs, but also the fact that petroleum, among other things, is used for the production of packaging, for example.

„Petroleum is part of the cost of practically all products which we use on a daily basis. A bottle of water, a label and a bottle cap are made of petroleum. A bottle costs RSD 40, of which water is only a few dinars, while everything else is petroleum. Even higher growth occurred with global gas prices that increased to more than US$3,000,“ Trajkovic explains.

Izvor: RTS

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