Inflation accelerated to 3.9% in April, mainly due to higher fuel prices

April´s month-on-month inflation rate accelerated, driven mainly by higher fuel prices and housing costs while lower food prices moderated the increase. In year-on-year terms, inflation reached the second highest level this year. Its upward pressure continued due to higher housing energy prices and the sharpest rise in motor fuel prices in almost 3.5 years. A positive fact was the slowdown in food price growth.

In April, consumer prices of goods and services rose by only 0.5% month-on-month. Year-on-year inflation rose to 3.9%; similarly to the month-on-month comparison, this was the second highest value this year after January.

Inflation rates, i.e. the development of consumer prices since January 2026, have been influenced by three major changes. The first was the implementation of the new revised COICOP 2018 classification, together with a new base period and the newly recalculated weights for individual items in the consumer basket for 2026. At the same time, recalculated data have been retrospectively available in the time series from January 2021 onwards.

Month-on-month development – April 2026 compared with March 2026

In April, consumer prices rose month-on-month in 10 out of a total of 13¹⁾ divisions (household expenditure groups), ranging from 0.1% in clothing and footwear, as well as education services, to 4.6% in transport. A price decrease was recorded in only one division, namely food and non-alcoholic beverages, by 0.2%. Prices of furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, as well as insurance and financial services, remained unchanged.

The month-on-month inflation rate was affected most significantly by the sharp price increase in transport. In particular, prices of fuels and lubricants rose by as much as 11.9%, representing the highest growth rate ever recorded.

Higher oil prices had a major impact on this development and were also clearly reflected in fuel prices.

The acceleration of month-on-month inflation was moderated by lower prices in the food and non-alcoholic beverages division, representing the second largest share of household expenditure in Slovakia (21%). Food prices dropped by 0.3% month-on-month, with prices falling in 5 out of 9 food components²⁾. The most significant positive impact came from lower prices of meat²⁾ (-1.7%) and milk, dairy products and eggs (-1.4%). Prices also fell for fruit and nuts, as well as sugar and confectionery. By contrast, compared with March, prices of vegetables (+2.0%) and oils and fats (+4.2%) increased. After a two-month decline in prices, non-alcoholic beverages became more expensive again in April, rising by 1.2%; price developments were mainly affected by prices of soft drinks, coffee and tea.

Although prices in the housing and energy division rose more moderately in April (+0.2%), their impact on month-on-month inflation development was significant. Higher prices were recorded mainly for imputed rentals for housing, water supply, and services related to the maintenance of household dwellings. This division represents the largest item in the expenditure structure of Slovak households (21.8%).

Inflation was also affected by higher tobacco prices (+1.6%), while lower prices of alcoholic beverages (-0.7%), particularly wine, affected favourably the inflation.

An unfavourable impact on month-on-month inflation was also due to a price growth in the personal care and social protection division²⁾ (+0.5%). In particular, services and goods related to personal care, such as hairdressing services, became more expensive.

Year-on-year development – April 2026 compared to April 2025

Inflation, i.e. the year-on-year increase in prices, reached 3.9% in April. This was the second highest  value in 2026. Compared with April 2025, prices were higher in all 13 divisions¹⁾ (household expenditure groups), ranging from 0.7% in the in the clothing and footwear division to 7.2% in the transport division.

A major contribution to the year-on-year inflation increase in April came from the housing and energy division (+6.3%), representing the highest share in household expenditure in Slovakia. The impact of the January regulatory measures continued to be reflected in April prices, with particularly high year-on-year increases recorded for heating energy prices (+27.8%). Compared with last year, higher prices were also recorded for imputed rentals for housing as well as water supply and sewerage services.

Transport prices had a notably negative impact on inflation developments, rising sharply by 7.2% in April, the highest increase since February 2023. This was the highest figure since February 2023. The result was driven mainly by a sharp increase in motor fuel prices of 15.3%, the highest value since November 2022. For the first time this year, prices for the purchase of motor cars also rose.

In the second most significant component in the household structure, food and non-alcoholic beverages²⁾, year-on-year growth slowed to 1.0%. This was the lowest value since November 2025. Lower growth dynamics in food prices (+0.3%) moderated the year-on-year overall inflation rate in April. Prices rose in 6 out of 9 food components, but lower prices for meat²⁾ (-3.7%), milk, cheese and eggs (-0.3%), and oils and fats (-5.4%) contributed to the slowdown in inflation growth. On the other hand, cereals including bread, vegetables, as well as fruit and nuts and prepared food products recorded more significant price increases. The year-on-year growth rate of prices for non-alcoholic beverages slowed slightly again to +7.8%, which was the lowest value since December 2024.

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco recorded a higher year-on-year rate of price growth (+4.8%), with prices increasing across the entire division. Prices of restaurants and accommodation services (+5.5%), as well as services and goods related to recreation, sport and culture (+4.7%), continued to rise.

In total, in the first four months of 2026, consumer prices rose by 3.8% year-on-year.

Development of core and net inflation

In March, the year-on-year inflation rate was 3.9%, core inflation reached 2.4% and net inflation reached 3.3%. On a month-to-month basis, core inflation remained unchanged, while net inflation reached 0.8%.

Core inflation tracks the growth of the price level after excluding the impact of changes in regulated prices (e.g. energy prices) and other administrative measures (e.g. tax adjustments, etc.). Net inflation is core inflation excluding changes in food prices.

New consumer basket for 2026

The Statistical Office of the SR, together with price changes, also adjusts the weights of individual divisions in the structure of the consumer basket every January. For 2026, the weights were revised according to household consumption in 2024 in line with international methodology. At the same time, following the implementation of the new COICOP 2018 classification, the consumer basket is divided into 13 divisions (until the end of 2025 it consisted of 12 divisions).

Under the national CPI inflation methodology, the shares of the two largest items in household expenditure decreased. Housing and energy currently represents 21.8% of household expenditure (last year it was 23.3%). Food and non-alcoholic beverages account for 20.9%, while last year their share was 21.2%. A comparison of the consumer basket structures for 2025 and 2026 is provided in the document Comparison_consumption_expenditure_structure_CPI_2025_2026 (ZIP 15,5 kB).

Supplementary statistical outputs on the topic of inflation

The Statistical Office of the SR publishes additional supplementary data on national inflation 10 days after the first publication of the total monthly inflation, approximately around the 26th day of the month. Structured data are available in the public database DATAcube. within the Chapter 2.3.1.1 - Consumer Price Indices. Data for April 2026 will be published on May 26, 2026.

These are outputs on the topics:

• changes in consumer prices for specific social groups (households of pensioners, employees, low-income households)
• average consumer prices of selected specific goods and services from the consumer basket (including food)³⁾.