Skopje, 18 February 2026 (MIA) - Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski told journalists Wednesday he expects inflation to be below 3 percent in the coming months. Speaking after a conference on formalizing the country’s informal economy, the Prime Minister said he expects a similar rate of annual inflation as well, which, he said, is within the projections. 

“I think we are moving within the projection of below 3 percent for annual inflation. When we compare the rate, it is roughly comparable with the rest of the region except for Serbia where it is 2.2-2.3 percent since they have a measure capping the prices of products. As soon as they abandon the price caps, then all of this will balance out, we saw that a year before they implemented it and that is why we decided to use other mechanisms to fight inflation. Regarding the other months, I expect it to be below 3 percent,” Mickoski said in answer to a journalist’s question over data that inflation in January stood at 3.2 percent on an annual level, with a monthly drop of 0.7 percent, but an increase of 5.2 percent when it comes to food prices. 

Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska said the Ministry’s projections remain unchanged, adding that the situation has already stabilized. Quizzed about the high inflation in food prices, the Minister said that now is the time for the situation to stabilize after the growth in wages and prices. 

“Stabilization never happens overnight. From the very beginning of the rising inflation, as an opposition party, we spoke that ways should be found to stabilize the prices instead of just moving to increase wages fast just to cover those prices. That was the case at that time, there were external factors – the high price of electricity, the post-Covid situation, the Ukraine – Russia conflict. Back then we were urging them to introduce measures, I often spoke about making use of the stock reserves, but the Government failed to stop it. Once you teach businesses they can sell their products at a higher price, then it is very difficult to reverse things. And we now need to reverse that habit, and this is happening but it isn’t so simple. And there is always demand for food products,” Dimitrieska-Kochoska said. 

The Minister said despite global circumstances, the situation in the country is stabilizing, which, she said, is a clear indicator that the Government is paying a lot of attention to the issue.

In his address at the conference Mickoski spoke about the issue of prices and stressed that the Government would continue monitoring the prices of basic food products, while also analyzing trade margins, coordinating with relevant institutions to prevent abuses, and holding dialogue with vendors and producers to stabilize the market.

“Global shifts, energy shocks and instability affect the markets. But this must not be an alibi for unjustified margins and excessive profit on the back of the citizens. Market economy means free trade, but it doesn’t mean no controls. Competition must be fair, the consumer must be protected,” Mickoski said.

Photo: MIA