Eating out in Macedonia got 3.8% dearer in a year: the rise is slowing, but food and drinks are climbing faster than the average

Prices of restaurant and catering services in September were 3.8% higher than in the same month last year, according to the latest figures from Macedonia's State Statistical Office. That's lower than last year, when the annual rise in September was 4.7%. Lower - but on top of prices that had already gone up.

Compounded, the two increases mean that eating and drinking out has become almost 9% more expensive in two years. The statistics call that a slowdown. On the bill, it's a sum.

In the first nine months of the year, catering services were on average 3.1% more expensive than in the same period last year. But the average hides the differences. Alcoholic drinks went up the most, by 5.7%. Food is 4.7% dearer, soft drinks 3.6%. The only thing that got cheaper is accommodation, down 3.6% - and that alone is what pulls the overall average down.

So a customer who just sits down for lunch and a drink pays more than the 3.1% average suggests: all three items on their bill are rising faster. A cheaper hotel night doesn't make their coffee any cheaper.

Month on month the change is almost invisible, 0.1% compared with August, driven by food. Compared with December last year, prices are 1.5% higher. So yes, growth is slowing. What this index doesn't measure is whether customers' incomes are rising fast enough to keep up. If they aren't, is going out for lunch slowly turning into a weekend luxury?