Prices rise beyond fuel as well, the most persistent part of inflation “jumped” in April

The most persistent components of inflation recorded a significant increase in April. According to information from the Bank of Albania, core inflation, net core inflation, and inflation excluding food and energy goods all rose simultaneously, indicating that pressures driving price increases remain high, beyond the short-term effect of rising fuel prices.

Figures from the central bank show that annual core inflation increased to 2.92%, up from 2.72% a month earlier. Core inflation also remains higher compared to the same period in 2025, when it stood at 2.53%.

Core inflation remained above the overall inflation level in the economy this month as well, which for April, according to figures from INSTAT, reached 2.8%. The sub-basket used to measure core inflation is calculated based on a group of products and services that make up 69.8% of the total Consumer Price Index basket.

Core inflation excludes products that are naturally highly volatile, such as food and energy products. The main purpose of calculating core inflation is to strip overall price growth of shorter-term fluctuations. Core inflation is an important indicator for understanding longer-term price trends and is therefore continuously monitored by the Bank of Albania.

According to analyses by the Bank of Albania, the relatively high levels of core inflation during the first part of this year were mainly driven by inflation in the rent subgroup, with positive — although slowing — contributions from several service categories, particularly those linked to tourism activity.

Domestic inflationary pressures remain the main contributor to inflation. Again according to the Bank of Albania, core and domestic inflation maintained the main contributions to overall inflation during the first quarter of 2026, contributing 2.05 and 3.15 percentage points respectively, and remain relatively stable in terms of their share in total inflation.

Alongside core inflation, net core inflation also increased by similar margins.

For April, this indicator rose to 3.61%, from 3.37% in March, and was also higher compared to the level of 2.19% a year earlier. Net core inflation further excludes processed food subgroups (including bread and cereals) from inflation calculations and is measured over 49% of the Consumer Price Index basket.

Meanwhile, inflation excluding all food and energy products in April 2026 increased to 3.51%, from 3.28% in March and 2.12% a year earlier.

“KORÇA BOOM”