In January 2019, the national consumer price index fell by 0.9% compared to the previous month. As every year, this decline is explained by price reductions offered during the winter sales. By offsetting changes in balances and excluding petroleum products, prices for other goods and services increased by 0.5%.

The general index for the month of January, expressed in base 100 in 2015, amounted to 103.40 points. The semi-annual average of the index linked to the 1.1.1948 base rose from 862.44 to 863.07 points.

Some items posted sharp declines in January due to winter sales. Prices for clothing and footwear are down 15.6% compared with December. Compared with January of the previous year, prices for clothing and footwear are slightly above 0.1%. Items related to furniture, appliances, personal and household goods are also affected by sales, but to a lesser extent.
 
For the third consecutive month, the trend for petroleum product prices was down. Compared to December, the derivatives of "black gold" fell by 2.3%. The switch to the pump is cheaper for motorists, compared to the previous month the prices were down by 4.0% for diesel and 1.5% for petrol. The price of heating oil fell by 6.7%, while that of city gas rose by 2.1%. Despite the declines of the last three months, the price of "black gold" in the index basket is 0.8% higher than in January 2018.
 
In January, some elements of electricity pricing were adjusted, resulting in an average increase of 4.2% in prices paid by consumers.
 
Prices are climbing for some food products such as fish and seafood, meat and vegetables. In total, food prices rebounded 0.8% in one month and 2.6% compared to January 2018.
 
On the services side, financial services (+ 2.4% compared with December 2018), as well as mobile telephony services (+ 1.2%) have a visible upward impact on the result for December.

The annual rate of inflation fell from 1.9% in December 2018 to 1.8% in January 2019. The annual rate of core inflation gained 0.1 percentage points and reached 1.8%. The next indexing will be triggered when the value of 873.94 is reached.