Inflation in Mozambique in December was 1.1 per cent, according to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), drawn from the consumer price indices for the three largest cities (Maputo, Nampula and Beira).
This brings inflation for the entire year of 2017 to 5.65 per cent – a dramatic improvement from 2016 when inflation was 23.67 per cent. The trend over the year was similar to the past – in the initial months (January to April) prices rose, but in the middle of the year (May to September), as the harvest came in, prices fell, and so the inflation for those months was negative. Prices resumed an upward trend in the last four months of the year.
The main price rises in December were for tomatoes (12.1 per cent), onions (20.6 per cent), beer (6.1 per cent), coconuts (9.9 per cent), frozen fish (2.6 per cent), and medical consultations (24.9 per cent).
Taking the entire year, the main price rises were for petrol, bread, charcoal, beer, coconuts, restaurant meals and frozen fish. These accounted for 3.88 per cent of the total inflation of 5.65 per cent.
The December inflation was not the same in the three cities. It was highest in Nampula (1.24 per cent), while the inflation rate in Maputo was 1.15 per cent, and in Beira only 0.74 per cent. COM
