MAPUTO: The Mozambican inflation rate, calculated from the consumer price indices of the three main cities (Maputo, Nampula and Beira), was 2.58 per cent in October, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE). As usual, most of the inflation was accounted for by rises in food prices. The most significant of these price increases were for groundnuts (12.6 per cent), coconuts (11.4 per cent), tomatoes (9.8 per cent), frozen fish (5.4 per cent), rice (2.2 per cent), and maize flour (2.4 per cent).
The fuel price rises decreed by the government at the beginning of October also pushed up the inflation rate. Of particular importance was the 23.9 per cent rise in the price of diesel. The INE puts the rate of inflation from January to October at 17.67 per cent, again mostly accounted for by rises in food prices. Over the past year (1 November 2015 to 31 October 2016) inflation was 25.53 per cent. The Bank of Mozambique has warned that, by the end of the year, the annual inflation rate could reach 30 per cent or higher. Of the three cities, it was Maputo that registered the highest inflation rate in October, of 2.74 per cent, followed by Beira (2.46 per cent) and Nampula (2.39 per cent).
