In autumn it will be possible "exhale" – prices are expected to fall

Greek Secretary General for Trade and Consumer Protection Sotiris Anagnostopoulos told when to expect price cuts.

Based on the data to date and provided that there is no new emergency, he assesses the situation as follows, quotes CNN Greece:

“Obviously, prices are rising, but at some point there will be a “ceiling” set not by us, but by reality. Prices cannot rise forever. The situation in Ukraine has already been assessed by the market, prices have risen and remain stably high, but they are not going to rise further The big problem with fuel prices right now is the problematic euro/dollar exchange rate, precisely because the US has raised interest rates, which it hasn’t done. EU. The EU is expected to do so in the future and as long as inflation remains high. So we will definitely see a deflationary slowdown in inflation as a result of the monetary policy measures taken by the EU. It will not be right away, perhaps this is what we will observe from the fall, if there is no other extraordinary situation. I think given what we’re seeing at this stage, that’s where we’re going to see prices slow down.”

Mr. Anagnostopoulos explains that such an assessment “is related to the monetary policy of the EU, but it is impossible to know what fuel prices will be and whether they will deteriorate further. It seems that the worst is not ahead, but behind – prices are rising. high but stable level. He notes that the upward trend in prices, even for food and essential goods, is mainly due to higher energy prices:

“This is very closely related to primary production and at the level of production, for example, how machinery works, but at the same time, fertilizers are a very important element of costs, which are very dependent on the price of energy. This whole upward trend in prices, which “We have is caused not so much by the disruption of the food chain caused by the war, but by, for example, grain. This is a small part of the world’s consumption. What has a decisive influence on the supply chain is the passage of the cost of energy along the entire food chain.”

The Secretary General for Commerce assures that the rise in tourism this summer, after two years of reduced global tourism due to the pandemic, is also creating optimism for revenues in our country:

“Greece is expecting a very large increase in tourism. The fact that the economic crisis is global means that prices have been affected in all countries, so it does not create a spirit of unbalanced competitiveness, that is, that Greece costs more or has more appreciation. So, first of all, we will have a higher tourist flow, which means revenues for the Greek state and therefore more fiscal space to take additional measures, if necessary, to protect consumers during the winter.”

However, Mr. Anagnostopoulos believes that despite the unprecedented rise in prices, tourist consumption will not be affected:

“The support measures during covid have resulted all over the world – and this is also a secondary cause of the inflationary boom – in an increase in deposits. It is significant that during covid there was an increase in deposits in the Greek economy – in households and businesses – by about 40 billion euros. Whereas in the period 2015-2019 we had a decline of about 11 billion overall.This shows that there is money in the bank at the moment.You can see this in the data ELSTAT, an explosion in various sectors of Greek manufacturing, especially in construction. In addition, construction activity grew by 46.7% in one year by volume. Thus, it seems that there are deposits looking for an exit in investments that are not particularly affected by inflation. We also have a significant increase in exports, which indicates the recovery of our economy, as it is more competitive than in the past. We have a decline in the unemployment rate, which is to be expected, and a significant increase, exceeding 8% in 2021. This situation gives us confidence.”

Source link