Annual inflation rate rises to 3.7%

The annual inflation rate increased by 0.1% in February from 3.6% recorded in January, the Central Bureau of Statistics said in a statement this week. The bureau said the monthly inflation rate for February was estimated at 0.2%, a decrease of 0.7% from that of January.

The alteration was due to monthly decreases in prices of food and non alcoholic beverages, clothing and footwear, recreation, culture and health. The bureau said the All Items Index for February increased by 0.3 percentage points up from 126.1% in January to 126.4%. The index for food and non alcoholic beverages decreased to 128.3% from the 128.7% recorded in January. This was attributed to the the decrease in the milk, cheese and eggs, vegetables, meat and food indexes, the bureau said.

The food and non-alcoholic beverages index closed the month at 4.3%, the housing, water , electricity, gas and other fuels index at 3.2%, with transport topping at 6.3%.
Minister of finance Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said on March 16, when she presented the 2006/7 budget, that while increasing fuel prices were expected to exert upwards pressure on the inflation rate, these effects would be mitigated by a strong currency.