INFLATION OF 2.24 PER CENT IN FEBRUARY

Inflation in Mozambique in February, as measured by the consumer price indices in the three largest cities (Maputo, Nampula and Beira), was 2.24 per cent, the National Statistics Institute (INE) announced on Wednesday.The monthly inflation was almost entirely due to rises in food prices. The most significant price rises were for brown sugar (18 per cent), maize flour (11.7 per cent), fresh or frozen fish (6.3 per cent), tomatoes (5.9 per cent), cowpeas (25.3 per cent), lettuce (28.2 per cent), and rice (2.1 per cent).In the first two months of the year prices have risen by 4.95 per cent, again due overwhelmingly to the increase in food prices. In the two month period, food and non-alcoholic drinks rose in price by 4.1 per cent, clothing and footwear by 0.21 per cent, furniture by 0.19 per cent, and education costs by 0.16 per cent. No other items in the basket of goods and services on which the consumer price index is based rose by as much as 0.1 per cent.Inflation over the past year was 12.18 per cent, while the average 12 monthly inflation rate over the year was 4.99 per cent.Some comfort can be taken from the fact the February inflation rate is lower than that for January (2.65 per cent), and for December 2015 (4.76 per cent).