While global prices continue to increase - particularly in food - Slovakia looks set to rewrite its history this year with record low price growth. The National Bank of Slovakia expects prices to increase by a mere 0.1 percent in 2014. There will not have been such a thin full-year price rise ever seen before.
A particularly low increase in foodstuffs affects it, says Vice-Governor of the central bank Jan Toth. Merchants confirm this too, with the president of the Slovak Association of Commerce and Tourism Pavol Konštiak saying merchants have been exerting pressure on their suppliers in order to slash their prices. In addition to merchants, consumers who do not buy more expensive goods also contributed to the decline in food costs. The prices are further influenced by seasonality.
