Romania's annual inflation reached 8.01 percent in March this year, up from 7.6 percent the month before, according to the country's Statistics Office. This is a peak in inflation since August 2008. The increase in price for potatoes, fresh fruits, sugar and gasoline has triggered the hike in inflation.

The inflation rate exceeded analysts' expectations for a second month in a row. The Romanian Central Bank's inflation target for this year is of 3 percent, plus or minus one percentage point, while the prognosis for the end of the year is of 3.6 percent. The estimation was revised at the end of February, when it was of 3.4 percent. The Central Bank will most likely up the prognosis, according to governor Mugur Isarescu, as the international hike in food and energy prices have altered the initial prognosis.

editor@romania-insider.com