Central Europe’s underlying inflation still weak

On the face of it at least, the latest rise in inflation in Central Europe is deeply worrying, not least since it has come against a backdrop of slowing growth. But a closer look at the data reveals that the pick-up in inflation has been driven by the ongoing pass-through of the spike in global commodity prices seen earlier this year, which, in some cases, has been compounded by the effects of indirect tax hikes. Underlying inflation pressures remain weak – and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.