Figures from the National Statistical Service of Greece (ELSTAT) showed that the consumer price index rose by 1.5% in March after increasing by 0.1% in February. This was the highest reading since September 2023. Economists had expected a 0.4% increase. In annual terms, consumer price growth accelerated to 3.2% (4-month high) from 2.9% in February. Consensus estimates suggested an increase of 3.3% per annum. The average CPI for the 12-month period from April 2023 to March 2024, increased by 2.8% per annum.
ELSTAT said that the growth in monthly terms was due to higher prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco (+0,6%), clothing and footwear (+35,1%), health (+1,3%), transport (+2,2%), hotel-cafés-restaurants (+0,5%) and miscellaneous goods and services (+0,4%). On the other hand, prices fell for food and non-alcoholic beverages (-1,1%), housing (-1,0%), household equipment (-0,4%) and communication (-0,3%).
The data also showed that in March, the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) - an indicator that allows to compare inflation in Greece with inflation in European countries - rose by 1.8% on a monthly basis and by 3.4% per year. The average HICP for the 12-month period from April 2023 to March 2024, increased by 3.4% per year.