December inflation goes up by 0.1 percent
Although it is expected to slow down this year, the annual inflation continued to increase with the December inflation going up by 0.1 percent on the backdrop of fuel price increase.
The annual inflation in December stood at 8.7 percent, way above the Bank of Botswana’s medium term objective of 3 – 6 percent,
Contributing significantly to the December 2021 rate were Transport at 4.3 percent, Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels at 1.4 percent, Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages 1.0 percent and Miscellaneous Goods and Services at 0.7 percent.
According to data from Statistics Botswana inflation rates for regions between November 2021 and December 2021 has indicated that the Rural Villages’ inflation rate stood at 8.7 percent in December, showing a rise of 0.2 of a percentage point on the November rate of 8.5 percent.
The Cities and Towns inflation rate rose by 0.1 of a percentage point, from 8.5 percent in November to 8.6 percent in December, while the Urban Villages’ inflation rate stood at 8.8 percent in December the same rate as in November.
The national Consumer Price Index (CPI) meanwhile went up by 0.1 percent in December 2021, from 113.3 registered in November, 2021 to 113.5.
The Cities and Towns Index moved from 113.3 to 113.4 registering an increase of 0.2 percent.
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The Rural Villages index recorded a growth of 0.2 percent, from 112.4 in November to 112.7 in December, whereas the Urban Villages index advanced from 113.8 in November to 113.9 in December 2021, a rise of 0.1 percent.
Acting Statistician General, Tapologo Baakile noted that the group indices were generally moving at a steady pace between November and December 2021, recording changes of less than 1.0 percent.
The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels group index recorded an increase of 0.5 percent, from 116.9 in November to 117.5 in December.
This was attributed to the general increase in the constituent section indices, especially; Rent Paid by Tenants at 0.9 percent.