The formation of inflationary processes from January to August 2020 was affected by lockdown measures, which in turn was mirrored in price pressures, depending on changes in the supply and demand for goods and services as well as personal preferences of the population, the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction said.
The inflation in August this year was 0.5 percent, compared to 2.9 percent in the same period of the previous year. Since the beginning of the year (in January-August), inflation has amounted to 4.8 percent, significantly slowing down compared to the corresponding period of 2019 (8.2 percent). At the same time, the annual inflation rate in August 2020 reached its minimum since May 2017 and amounted to 11.7 percent (versus 16.5 percent in 2019).
The growth of the consumer price index since the beginning of 2020 was moderate, with a smaller share of non-food products contributing to total consumer price increases and an increased share of food products.
In general, prices in 2020 were influenced by such factors as high demand for food products and basic commodities as a result of rush demand and devaluation of the soum in April, as well as a relatively small seasonal decline in fruit and vegetable prices compared to previous years.
The slow increase in the prices of non-food products and services, on the other hand, was a deterrent to overall price increase, owing to the downturn in economic activity during the quarantine period.
