January inflation rate reached 1.03 per cent, 0.2 percent up compared to January 2005, according to a study by the National Statistics Institute. The increase of utility prices is the major factor that determined the rising of the monthly inflation, a trend that would set the annual inflation rate to 9 per cent.

Food products and services prices have gone up moderately, with 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively. However, natural gas costs increased 17.1 per cent, and electricity 2 per cent, respectively. Water, sewage and sanitation prices have increased 3.6 per cent.

Under these circumstances, the annual inflation target of 5 percent seems compromised, according to analysts. The market analysts consider the January inflation rate as "alarming" given the macroeconomic indexes.

The Romanian National Bank governor estimated the inflation rate for the first month of the year to 0.7 percent, and the annual of 6 percent, whereas the IMF experts consider these figures as very "ambitious."

The French rating agency Coface estimated that the annual rate inflation will exceed 7.1 per cent, taking into consideration the evolution of the main macroeconomic indexes. For last year, Cofaces’ forecast of 8.8 was just 0.2 per cent higher than the recorded rate of 8.6.