Lithuanians worried about growing prices after euro introduction

The Eurobarometer data from September shows that three months ahead of the euro introduction, a total of 84 percent of Lithuanians are worried about growing prices of goods and services. Meanwhile in August 2010 in Estonia 81 percent of residents were afraid of that, in April 2013 in Latvia – 75 percent.

Julita Varanauskienė, family finance expert of SEB Lithuania, says that official statistics after the euro adoption have proven that fears of Latvians and Estonians were groundless, although prices of some goods and services increased for reasons other than the euro introduction.

“One should not forget that people find it difficult to convert currencies. What is more, people tend to assess their environment selectively: they mostly notice the kind of information which only confirms their beliefs, so being worried about the growth of prices they notice only those prices that go up,” she said.