Baltic nation sees wild surge in consumer prices

The Estonian consumer price index saw a dramatic surge of 18.8% year-over-year in April, with prices advancing faster than they have been in decades, according to the latest data revealed by Statistics Estonia.

The agency reported that prices for goods and services were 14.4% and 27.8% more expensive respectively in April compared to the same period a year ago.

The consumer price index was reportedly most affected by housing-related price changes, which was responsible for over 40% of the entire spike, according to Viktoria Trasanov, a leading analyst at Statistics Estonia.

Prices for electricity reportedly saw an enormous surge of 119%, while heat energy became 57.7% more expensive than in April 2021. Meanwhile, pipeline gas soared 237.2%. Rents also surged by 34.4%.

“In April, the automatic compensation scheme for electricity, electricity transmission fees, district heating, pipeline gas and gas transmission fees ended,” Trasanov explained.

The price changes for food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as the price changes for transport, accounted for nearly a fifth of the total increase.

The price of potatoes reportedly soared 134.3%, oils increased by 57%, cereals and flour saw a price surge of 37.7%, while prices for pasta products and eggs grew by 36.9% and 34.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, fresh fish saw a 30.7% price hike. Petrol was 32.5% and diesel fuel 48.6% more expensive.

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