MILOSAVLJEVIĆ: No increase in prices of electricity, public utilities and gas

- Prices of electric energy, public utility services and gas will not be increased soon - the Minister of Trade and Services, Slobodan Milosavljević, said today (July 21, 2009).

- The Government of Serbia does not intend to increase the prices of electric energy, public utility services or gas, although there are certain reasons for that - Milosavljević told the Broadcasting Corporation of Serbia.

He said that there were some first indications that the global economic crisis was settling down, but he warned that Serbia would register drop in gross national product in 2009, after eight years of continuous growth.

- GNP was decreased by about 3.5% in the first quarter of this year, or even more - said the Minister and expressed the hope that Serbia's economy sector had enough internal reserves to alleviate the crisis.

According to the words of Milosavljević, the purchase power and standard of citizens should "recover" the next year.

He said that the living expenses had been growing somewhat less than retail prices and that "deflation in the next few months would not surprise" him since the season of greater offer of fruit and vegetables had started.

The Minister advised the owners of smaller independent trade stores to start cooperating with large stores and reduce the number of articles.