Consumer prices in Romania grew by 0.77 percent on the month in January, while the annual inflation eased to 6.99percent , the country’s statistics institute INS said Monday. In December, the annual inflation peaked at 7.96 percent, mostly driven by a higher sales tax.

Analysts estimated a monthly inflation of 0.6 percent in January, while the annual rate was predicted at 6.8 percent on average. Food prices increased 1.1 percent on the month in January, while non-food prices were up 0.8 percent, INS data showed. Prices in the services sector inched down 0.1 percent on the month.

The central bank targets an annual inflation of 3 percent at the end of 2011, plus/minus one percentage point around the band. The bank has recently revised upward its forecast on the annual rate to 3.6 percent in December, from 3.4 percent previously.

Mediafax