OREANDA-NEWS. April 20, 2010. The State Statistics Committee informs that for Jan-Mar 2010 consumer inflation in Azerbaijan made up 3.8% against Jan-Mar 2009 (year-on-year). In March, inflation totaled 1.3% versus February 2010.

The level accumulated since early 2010 reached 2.9%.

The government’s forecasts concerning inflation for 2010 differ strongly.

The official forecast supposes that inflation will be no more than 3%, but some “apocryphal” predictions admit inflation surge up to 5-7%.

In 2009 country’s consumer inflation reached 1.5% against 2008 and last December 0.8% versus November 2009.

This March growth of wholesale industrial price index totaled 0.1% versus February 2010 (9.2% has accumulated over the current year) and 71.9% year-on-year (Jan-Mar 2010 index versus the Jan-Mar 2009 figure). Such a burst is linked with year-on-year 2-fold rise in prices in oil and gas sector, i.e. speech is not of “inflation of costs” as a basis for burst of consumer inflation.

In December 2009 rise of wholesale price index was 0.3% against November and year-on-year decline of wholesale prices for 2009 versus 2008 made up 19.2%.

This March food prices increased by 2.4% against February (5.2% has been accumulated over 2010) and by 2.5% year-on-year. Last December these prices grew by 1.4% versus November 2009 and in 2009 decreased by 1.5% against the 2008 index.

This March prices for farm products rose by 2.1% against February (2.8% has been accumulated over 2010), but dropped by 2.1% year-on-year. In December, their growth versus last November was 1%, and for whole 2009 it reached 0.3% against the 2008 figure.

Since June 2009, SSC has ceased publishing data on money circulation.