March inflation rate slows to 22.1%
Malawi’s year-on-year headline inflation rate for March 2016 as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has dropped by 1.3 percentage points to 22.1 percent from 23.4 percent in February 2016.
National Statistical Office (NSO) attributed the drop to a decline in food inflation due to increased supply of cereals.
Food inflation now stands at 26.5 percent from February’s 28.6 percent while the urban and rural inflation stands at 17.8 percent and 24.9 percent from last month’s 17.6 percent and 27.1 percent respectively.
Malawi’s inflation rate remains one of the highest in the 19-member Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) trade bloc under the harmonised consumer price index (HCPI).
Recently, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Goodall Gondwe said government is working on downing inflation by end of the year since high inflation rates are prohibitive for good economic activity.
Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) president Henry Kachaje is on record as having said that slight improvements in inflation rates are not inspiring confidence “as it does not make any impact on the poor”.
Government targets a half year inflation rate of 14.2 percent by June. n
