The average price increase according to Eurostat's methodology was 2.4% in July, a value similar to the average inflation of EU countries in this month.
According to the annual change measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices in July 2025, the largest price increase of 12.0% is observed in the "Entertainment and culture" group, followed by the "Alcoholic beverages and tobacco" and "Hotels, cafes and restaurants" groups with 3.3% each.
The group “Furniture, household equipment and maintenance” increased by 2.7%, “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” by 1.8%, “Educational services” and “Miscellaneous goods and services” by 1.6% each, “Communication” by 1.4%, “Health” by 1.0%, “Clothing and footwear” by 0.4%, “Rent, water, fuel and energy” by 0.3%.
On the other hand, the prices of the group “Transport” decreased by 0.8%. While the monthly change measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices is -0.2%. This change was mainly influenced by the decrease in prices of the group “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” by 1.1%, followed by the groups “Rent, water, fuel and energy” by 0.3%, “Clothing and footwear”, “Furniture, household equipment and maintenance” and “Health” by 0.2% each, “Transport” by 0.1%.
Prices in the "Entertainment and culture" group increased by 1.7%, followed by the groups "Hotels, cafes and restaurants" by 0.5%, "Alcoholic beverages and tobacco" by 0.3%, "Miscellaneous goods and services" by 0.2%.
Romania faced the highest price increase with 6.7% in July, followed by Estonia and Slovakia, while Switzerland and Cyprus had the lowest increase with less than 0.3%. Unlike the CPI, the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) measures the change in the level of retail prices of goods and services from the point of view of the structure of expenditures that consumers (domestic and foreign) intend for final consumption in the territory of Albania. The HICP is used to monitor the movement of retail prices in European countries, comparing the inflation rate between European countries and as the official inflation of the European Central Bank ensuring price stability in the Economic and Monetary Union.
