FOOD PRICES GREW BY 3.5% IN AUGUST

MBABANE – Food prices, weighing 20.15 per cent in the consumer basket, grew by a slower 3.5 per cent in August 2024, compared to 3.9 per cent in the previous month.

According to the Recent Economic Developments (RED) report from the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) for August/September, the slight decrease in food inflation was mainly attributable to a moderation in ‘sugar’ prices, which grew by a slower 1.8 per cent, on a year-on-year comparison in August 2024, compared to 6.3 per cent in the previous month. Other food products that recorded slower increases included: fruits and vegetables, bread, milk and cheese. On the other hand, the growth rate of the price index for ‘Transport’ and ‘other’, maintained a constant growth of 2.9 per cent and 5.0 per cent respectively.  The country’s headline inflation fell by 0.1 of a percentage point to record 4.1 per cent in August 2024, from 4.2 per cent in July 2024. Disinflationary pressures came from the price indices for ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ and ‘miscellaneous goods and services’ which maintained their constant indices.

Increases were noted

On the contrary, increases were noted in the price indices for ‘miscellaneous goods and services’ and ‘clothing and footwear’. ‘Miscellaneous goods and services’ inflation edged up slightly from 7.6 per cent in July 2024 to 8.2 per cent in August 2024, mainly driven by year-on-year increases in the prices for ‘personal care’ and ‘other appliances, articles and products for personal care’. Similarly, ‘clothing and footwear’ price index grew by a slower 0.4 of a percentage point to record 3.35 per cent in August 2024, benefitting from increases in the prices for ‘shoes and other footwear’.  

On a month-on-month basis, consumer inflation recorded a 0.1 per cent growth in August 2024 compared to a growth of zero per cent in the previous month. Most categories in the consumption basket recorded zero growth on a month-on-month basis in August 2024. A notable decline was observed in the prices of ‘recreation & culture’, which decreased by 1.0 per cent, compared to an increase of 0.3 per cent in the previous month. On the contrary, there were moderate increases in the prices for ‘food & non-alcoholic beverages’, ‘clothing and footwear’ and ‘education.

Core inflation, (which is CPI excluding volatile items such as food, auto-fuel, and energy) maintained a slower growth of 3.7 per cent during the month under review, which is the same as the growth of the previous month. On month-on-month basis, core inflation recorded 0.1 per cent growth in August 2024 from zero per cent growth in the previous month.

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