Prices of goods and services for personal consumption measured through the index of the costs of living in July this year increased by 3.8 percent from July 2005, the State Statistical Office stated.

The same prices in July this year declined by 0.1 percent from the previous month.

Viewed by groups, the costs-of-living index in July 2006 dropped by 0.5 percent in food and soft drinks and increased by 0.9 percent in traffic compared with June 2006.