Consumer prices go up in Lithuania

VILNIUS (BNS) - Prices for consumer goods and services grew by 0.4 percent in October as compared with September, the Lithuanian Department of Statistics reported.

The highest rise in prices of 3.2 percent was observed in leisure activities and culture. Prices for newspapers increased noticeably by 20 percent.

Nadezhda Aleyeva, chief of the price statistics section at the Department of Statistics, said that the start of the heating season in September had the largest impact on inflation. Prices for heating increased 4.4 percent and for hot water by 3.8 percent.

Prices for the entire group of these services - household water, electricity, gas and other fuel - went up by 1.8 percent. In October, education increased by 1.3 percent.

Last month, four kinds of goods went down in prices. Prices for food products and soft beverages decreased by 0.1 percent, liquors and tobacco by 0.03 percent, health by 0.3 percent and prices for services rendered by cafes, hotels and restaurants went down by 0.01 percent.

Prices for communications remained unchanged last month. Prices for garments and footwear increased by 0.4 percent, for household furnishing, utilities and everyday maintenance by 0.1 percent and prices for transportation rose by 0.02 percent. Prices for gasoline, however, went down by 0.1 percent.

Last month, prices for other goods and services increased 0.6 percent.