Developments in inflation and its determinants
The annual CPI inflation rate consolidated in positive territory, reaching 0.85 percent in June, after having posted a notable increase in Q2 (+0.67 percentage points versus end-Q1). Its path reflected upward domestic pressures, arising from the pick-up in companies’ production costs, whose pass-through into end-user prices for consumer goods is favoured by the opening of the positive output gap.
The annual inflation rate advanced to a slightly higher-than-projected 0.64 percent in May 2017, after resuming in April the growth that had been discontinued in March 2017 (0.61 percent, against 0.18 percent). Behind this stood chiefly the step-up in core inflation and the slower negative growth of administered prices, as well as the rise in volatile food prices. The effects of these determinants were partially offset by the impact of slower annual fuel price dynamics, amid a renewed decline in the global oil price.
At aggregate level, according to companies polled, the main financial indicators remained largely steady in October 2016-March 2017, similarly to the developments seen in April-September 2016. The share of companies posting higher labour costs went up from the previous round (37 percent, from 31 percent).
Continuă lectura „Developments in non-financial corporations’ main financial indicators”
The EUR/RON exchange rate witnessed stronger fluctuations in the first half of 2017 Q1, before embarking on an almost constant uptrend. Its behavior, only partly correlated with that of the exchange rates of the main currencies in the region, reflected this time primarily the changes in investor sentiment vis-à-vis the local economy and financial market, brought about by domestic events/developments, and, to a smaller extent, the external influences.
According to the Inflation Report published by the NBR, during the period from October 2016 to January 2017, the number of employees in the economy kept rising at the relatively robust pace it had posted since the beginning of 2016 (+3.5 percent in annual terms). The advance was further ascribable to hiring in market services in particular, with trade, administrative and support service activities, and transport making significant contributions, bolstered by the brisk pace of increase of consumption.
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