Slovak cbank says Jan EU-norm CPI touch above fcast

    Slovakia's January EU-norm 
inflation (HICP) came in slightly higher than expected by the 
central bank (NBS), the NBS said in a statement on Wednesday 
    "The year-on-year inflation dynamic should slightly 
decelerate in February, due to the expected development of 
prices of goods, where energy prices and the pace of food price 
growth should decrease," the statement said.  
    "On the contrary, prices of services could slightly 
accelerate," it added. The NBS did not reveal its January 
prediction. 
    The Statistics Office said earlier on Wednesday that 
consumer prices, calculated according to EU methodology, rose 
0.5 percent month-on-month in January, putting the annual 
inflation rate at 2.2 percent. 
 

[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]