In the month of November, annual inflation in Bulgaria has reached 4.6%, compared to November of 2009, according to data released by the National Statistics Institute (NSI).

The inflation is largely attributed to the price increase of food, non-alcoholic beverages and fuels.

The first two, forming 35% of the total consumption in the country, have gone up by 1.2% in November 2010, compared to October, 2010, and by 4.7% on annual basis.

On monthly basis, in November 2010, fuels – electric power, water and electricity, are up 0.8%.

In October, 2010, annual inflation was 3.9%.

Alcohol and cigarettes, forming 5% of the total consumption, have gone up the most on annual basis – 26.5%, attributed to the excise hike in the beginning of the year, and 0.1% on monthly basis.

In November, communications expenses are up 7.6% on annual basis; housing expenses are up 3.7%, but prices of shoes and clothing are going down.

According to NSI, the harmonized inflation rate, which takes into account the consumption of foreigners in the country, is 4%, which is twice higher than the EU average on annual basis (2.3% for October).

Bulgaria ranks fifth among the EU Member States with the highest annual inflation, after countries such as Greece, Hungary and Romania.