Slovakia’s annual inflation rate increased to 3.9% in April 2026 from 3.5% in March, slightly above market expectations of 3.8%. This was the highest rate since January 2026, driven primarily by a sharp rise in housing and utilities costs, which climbed 6.3% amid regulatory changes, especially higher prices for heating energy (27.8%) and gas (6.7%).
Transport prices (7.2% vs 2.1% in March) reached their highest level in more than four years, supported by a 15.3% jump in motor fuel prices. Additional upward pressure came from alcoholic beverages and tobacco (4.8% vs 3.0%), information and communication services (1.8% vs 0.9%), and miscellaneous goods and services (3.1% vs 2.9%).
By contrast, price growth for food and non-alcoholic beverages slowed to 1.0% from 1.3%, reflecting declines in meat (-3.7%), milk, cheese and eggs (-0.3%), and oils and fats (-5.4%).
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.5%, up from 0.1% in each of the previous two months. Meanwhile, core inflation, excluding regulated prices, picked up to 2.4% from 1.9%.
