Figures from the National Statistical Service of Greece (ELSTAT) showed that the consumer price index rose by 1.4% in March (the sharpest increase since September 2024) after declining by 0.1% in February. Economists had expected a 1.3% increase. In annual terms, consumer prices rose 2.4%, slowing compared to February (+2.5%). Consensus estimates suggested an increase of 2.3% per annum. The average CPI for the 12-month period from April 2024 to March 2025 increased by 2.6% per annum.
ELSTAT said that the growth in monthly terms was due to higher prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages (+0.9%), clothing and footwear (+31.5%), transport (+0.2%), recreation and culture (+0.3%), hotel-cafes-restaurants (+1.0%) and miscellaneous goods and services (+0.3%). On the other hand, prices fell for alcoholic beverages and tobacco (-0,3%), housing (-0,2%) and health (-0.5%).
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 1.9% on a monthly basis and by 3.1% per year. The average HICP for the 12-month period from April 2024 to March 2025 increased by 3.0% per year.