Consumer prices in Romania rose by 0.77 percent in February from a month earlier, while the annual inflation accelerated to an unexpected 7.6 percent, according to the country’s statistics institute INS. In January, the annual inflation had eased to 6.99 percent from a record high of 7.96 percent in the previous month.  Analysts estimated a monthly inflation of 0.5 percent in February, while the annual rate was predicted at 7.3 percent.

Food prices increased by 1.8 percent on the month in February, while non-food prices were up 0.3 percent,accoridng to the INS. Prices in the services sector remained unchanged compared with the previous month.

The Romanian Central Bank (BNR) 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