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Belarus posts highest rise in consumer prices among post-Soviet countries in first seven months of 2011

Inflation in Belarus in the first seven months of 2011 was between five and 103 times higher than elsewhere in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), placing the country first in a rise in consumer prices in the CIS, according to a BelaPAN survey of the countries' official data.

In January through July, consumer prices reportedly rose by 41 percent in Belarus, by 7.7 percent in Tajikistan, by 6.9 percent in Kyrgyzstan, by 5.6 percent in Kazakhstan, by five percent in Russia, by 4.9 percent in Moldova, by 4.6 percent in Ukraine, by 3.8 percent in Latvia, by 2.9 percent in Lithuania, by 2.7 percent in Estonia, by 1.7 percent in Azerbaijan and by 0.4 percent in Armenia. The prices dropped by 0.7 percent in Georgia. In Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, they increased by 0.6 and 3.6 percent, respectively, in the first half of 2011, according to the countries’ official statisticians.

Belarus also had the highest rise in consumer prices in the CIS in July. In that month, they reportedly rose by 3.5 percent in the country, up from a 0.5-percent rise in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Estonia each. They remained unchanged in Russia and dropped by 0.1 percent in Moldova, by 0.2 percent in Lithuania, by 0.3 percent in Kyrgyzstan and Latvia each, by 0.8 percent in Azerbaijan, by 1.3 percent in Ukraine, by 1.6 percent in Georgia and by three percent in Armenia.

Belarus' consumer prices reportedly rose by 9.9 percent in 2010, which was the third highest rise among the post-Soviet countries.

The economy ministry revised this past May its inflation forecast for this year, predicting that the prices will increase by between 33 and 39 percent, up from between 7.5 and 8.5 percent projected initially. //BelaPAN