MBABANE – Eswatini’s inflation rate eased further in November, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showing that overall prices rose by 2.4 per cent compared to the same month last year.
This marks a slowdown from the 2.9 per cent recorded in October 2025 and is also lower than the 3.7 per cent inflation rate recorded in November 2024, according to the latest CPI report released by the Central Statistical Office (CSO).
The CPI measures changes in the prices of goods and services commonly bought by households and is the main indicator used to track inflation in the country. The November figures show that price pressures continued to soften across several major spending categories.
On a month-on-month basis, prices were unchanged in November. The CPI recorded a 0.0 per cent change between October and November 2025, compared to a 0.4 per cent increase between September and October. This means that, on average, households paid roughly the same prices in November as they did in October.
The CSO reported that inflation for goods stood at 2.5 per cent in November, while services inflation was recorded at 2.4 per cent, showing broadly similar price movements across both categories.
One of the key developments in the November report is the sharp slowdown in food inflation. Food and non-alcoholic beverages recorded an annual inflation rate of 0.0 per cent in November 2025, down from 3.6 per cent in November 2024.
This was mainly due to slower price increases in items such as milk, cheese and eggs, mineral waters and soft drinks, as well as price declines in bread and cereals. Vegetables also recorded negative annual price growth, while fruit prices increased at a faster pace.
Within non-alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea and cocoa prices rose strongly over the year, while mineral waters and soft drinks showed minimal price movement.
The alcohol beverages, tobacco and narcotics category recorded an annual inflation rate of 4.3 per cent in November 2025, down from 12.2 per cent a year earlier. The CSO attributes this slowdown mainly to slower price increases for beer and wine.
On a monthly basis, prices in this category fell by 0.3 per cent, largely due to stable prices for spirits during the month.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels continued to be a major contributor to overall inflation. Prices in this category increased by 4.4 per cent year-on-year in November.
Actual rentals for housing rose by 3.5 per cent compared to November 2024, while water supply prices increased by 8.2 per cent. Electricity prices recorded an annual increase of 6.9 per cent. These increases had a significant impact on the headline inflation rate due to the large weight of housing and utilities in the CPI basket.
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