In April 2011 consumer prices rose by 22.8% year on year, up from 21.1% in March and just 2.9% in April 2010. Prices are being driven by high global commodity prices, particularly for oil and related products, and by high food prices. In the first four months of 2011 prices for food and beverages had risen by around 12% since the start of the year.

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Fuel costs are likely to continue to exert upward pressure on prices in the coming months. From May 1st Russia increased its duties on exports of petrol by 44%, as a petrol shortage in Russia has led to a sharp rise in prices. These higher duties have not yet been reflected in official Kyrgyz inflation data, but will result in sharp price rises at petrol stations, as Russia is the main supplier of petroleum products.

Over the first four months of 2011 consumer price inflation averaged 21.1%, with particularly sharp rises-in addition to food prices-for clothing (up by 20.8% compared with January-April 2010), diesel (up by 33.7%) and petrol (up by 18.1%).

Industrial producer price inflation averaged 21.4% in January-April, broadly the same as in the year-earlier period, when producer prices rose by 21.9% year on year. However, producer price inflation has been accelerating, from 19.4% in January to 25.8% in April. Manufacturing prices exerted the strongest upward pressure, rising by 30.3% year on year, with particularly rapid increases recorded in the textiles industry (where inflation averaged 49% year on year in January-April) and food-processing (36.5%).