Penza, 18 September 2014. PenzaNews. Consumer prices for goods and services rose in the Penza region by 5.7% in the first eight months in 2014, said Sergei Shemenev, regional department chief of the Federal State Statistics Service, during a briefing held on Thursday, September 18.

He added that the retail prices rose by 0.2% in August compared to July 2014.

According to him, the price situation in the region as a whole is the same as the national average.

“In August, consumer food prices fell by 0.04%, while since the beginning of the year they increased by 8.2%. Non-grocery prices rose by 0.4% in August and by 3.1% since 2013. Prices and tariffs for services increased by 0.4% in the past month and by 5.3% since last year,” Sergei Shemenev noted.