Inflation Declines For Consecutive Months To 15.91% – NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday released the Consumer Price Index  which measures inflation with the index dropping year-on-year from 15.98 per cent in September to 15.91 per cent in October.

The bureau in the report which was made available said this is the ninth consecutive month since January this year that the index would be slowing down.

The report said food index increased by 20.31 percent year-on-year in October, down marginally by 0.01 percent points from the 20.32 per cent recorded in September.

On month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 0.76 percent as against 0.78 percent the previous month. Food inflation rose by 20.31 percent, just a soft touch below the 20.32 percent recorded in September, driven by notable increases in the prices of bread and cereals, meats, oils and fats, coffee, tea and cocoa, milk, cheese and eggs, vegetables, and fish. On m/m basis, food inflation increased at a slower pace of 0.85 percent, compared to the 0.87 percent recorded in the previous month.

Core inflation increased at a faster pace in October, rising by 12.14 percent, versus 12.12 percent in September, with the highest increases reported in the prices of maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment and other services related to personal transport equipment, air transport, vehicle spare parts, carpets and other floor coverings, furniture and furnishings and repair of furniture, solid and liquid fuels, shoes and other foot ware and garments, clothing materials, other articles of clothing, and clothing accessories. On a m/m basis, however, the core index increased at a slower rate of 0.76 percent, 4 bps below the 0.80 percent reported the previous month.