BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Yugoslavia's inflation rate rose to 2.2 percent in July, fueled by large increases in utility rates, housing and transportation, the government said Monday.
Branko Maricic, deputy secretary for prices, said the utility, housing and transportation price hikes were implemented by the administrations of Yugoslavia's six republics following the end of freezes imposed by federal authorities.
The freezes were implemented late last year as part of Prime Minister Ante Markovic's program to cool raging inflation, which totaled 2,600 percent for 1989.
The freezes were relaxed June 22 after anti-inflation policies resulted in tightening of the domestic money supply, liberalizing of import policies and making the dinar the first convertible currency in Eastern Europe.
The policy produced negative inflation rates beginning in May, and Maricic said that with the service sector price rises excluded, the level for July would have been minus 1.7 percent.
Higher housing and utility costs accounted for 66 percent of total inflation for July, which averaged 2.2 percent for all sectors, said Maricic. Public transport fare increases accounted for 22 percent of the total, he added.
He said the government expected monthly inflation rates of less than 1 percent for the rest of the year.
For the period of July 1989 to July 1990, he said, retail prices had risen 1,112 percent, service sector prices increased 1,276 percent and industrial producer prices rose 1,063 percent.
