Inflation edges up to 6%

The annual inflation rate rose to 6% in August up from 5.8% the previous month driven mainly by strong price increases for services, the Namibia Statistics Agency said last week. The slight uptick in annual inflation was mainly a result of a 9% increase in the hotels, cafes and restaurants category and a 7.8% annual increase in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels category. The transport category also saw a 6.8% increase mainly because of a 13.2% increase in  the subcategory of operation of personal transport equipment.
The alcoholic beverages and tobacco category as well as the food and non-alcoholic beverages also saw some strong increases rising by 8.8% and 6.7% year on year respectively. In the food and non-alcoholic beverages category, the increase was mainly due to an 18.7% rise in the price of fruits and a 12.1% increase in the price of vegetables including potatoes and other tubers. Alcoholic beverages also contributed to the increase in yearly inflation rising by 10.1%.
On a monthly basis, the increase in prices for services was mainly due to increases recorded in the subgroup of operation of personal transport equipment which increased by 3.2%, clothing materials (4.3%) and a 3.4% increase in the repair of footwear.