CHISINAU, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Consumer prices in Moldova rose 30.24% last month compared to December 2021 as the tiny country bordering Ukraine felt the economic impact of Russia's war on its neighbour.
The National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday that inflation last year was driven by higher prices for services and food products. It said prices for services grew by 43.97% last year and food price rose by 31.8%.
The International Monetary Fund said earlier this week that disruptions to energy supplies, and high food and energy prices had contributed to a deterioration of living standards in the country of 2.6 million people.
The statistics bureau said a decision by Moldova's government to provide compensation for residents to pay energy bills had helped keep down the pace of inflation pace in 2022.
The IMF approved a new $27-million tranche under its Extended Credit Facility to Moldova this week, but said the outlook remained fraught with challenges.
"The economy is projected to contract by 1.5 percent in 2022, followed by a modest recovery of 1.5 percent in 2023 due to the protracted impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the worsening outlook of Moldova’s main trading partners," it said in a statement.
Moldova's consumer price inflation stood at 13.94% in 2021. (Reporting by Alexander Tanas, Writing by Olena Harmash, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
