Czech cbank says CPI above fcast due to food costs

...food price growth, the CNB's chief forecaster Tomas Holub said on Thursday.

Commenting on inflation data released earlier in the day, Holub said the rise in regulated prices was also quicker than the central bank had forecast, and that core inflation came in slightly higher than expected.

"However, (core inflation) is still hovering at low levels, which signals that inflationary pressures from the real economy remain modest," Holub said in a statement.

The year-on-year growth in shop prices overshot the market's consensus forecast of 2.2 percent as well as the CNB's estimate of 2.1-2.2 percent, as it returned to the CNB's tolerance range of one percentage point either side of a 3 percent rolling goal.

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]