African Economic Watch: African Countries Release October Inflation Rates Statistics …

Lagos, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Most of the African countries released the inflation rates figure for October in the week ending Sunday 15 November 2015. South Africa also released the production figures for the mining and manufacturing sector and Tanzania’s M3 money supply September data were also released by the Bank of Tanzania.  

Sudan’s annual inflation rate eased to 13.37 percent in October from a revised 13.56 percent in September, a monthly report from Sudan’s Central Statistics Office said on Sunday. Prices soared in Sudan after South Sudan seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country’s oil output, the main source of foreign currency used to support the Sudanese pound and to pay for food and other imports.

Mauritius: The annual consumer inflation rate in October 2015 was 1.5 percent, a fall of 0.5 of a percentage point on the September 2015 rate of 2.0 percent, according to the data released by the Statistics Mauritius on Monday 9 November 2015. The Bank of Mauritius also cut the Key Repo Rate by 25 basis points to 4.40 percent from 4.65 percent at the end of MPC meeting on Monday.

Tanzania’s year-on-year inflation rate inched higher to 6.3 percent in October from 6.1 percent the previous month due to a rise in prices of major food and non-food commodities, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday 9 November 2015. The statistical office stated month on month inflation rose by 0.1 percent in October, same as in September.  The Bank of Tanzania also released the M3 money supply at 16.50 percent year-on-year in September relatively to 17.80 percent year-on-year in August.

Ethiopia’s inflation edged lower to 11.8 percent year-on-year to October from 11.9 percent in September, the statistics office said on Monday. The Central Statistics Agency said non-food inflation dipped to 7.0 percent in October from 7.5 percent the previous month. Food inflation was 16.2 percent, compare with 16.1 percent in September.

Seychelles’ inflation fell to 2.8 percent year-on-year in October from 4.5 percent the previous month, the statistics office said on Monday. Month-on-month inflation stood at -1.5 percent from -0.2 percent in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Mozambique’s consumer inflation raced to 4.74 percent year-on-year in October from 2.73 percent in September, the statistics office said on Monday. Increases to the prices of education, food and non-alcoholic beverages were responsible for the sharp uptick in the rate of inflation, the National Statistics Institute said.

Egypt’s annual core inflation rate (which excludes items such as fruit and vegetables) rose to 6.26 percent in October from 5.55 percent in September, the central bank said in a statement on Tuesday 10 November 2015.  The annual urban consumer inflation increased to 9.7 percent from 9.2 percent in September, the official statistics agency, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) stated on Tuesday. The annual inflation rate increased by 10.3% in October 2015, compared to October 2014, CAPMAS reported. The urban inflation rates also rose by 2.2 percent month-on-month in October from 2.5 percent in September 2015.

Rwandan inflation fell to 2.9 percent year-on-year in October from 3.7 percent a month earlier, the statistics office said on Tuesday.

Ghana’s annual consumer price inflation remained unchanged at 17.4 percent in October compared to the previous month due in part to a stabilisation of the local currency, the statistics office said on Wednesday. The October index was partly driven by the relative stability in the exchange rate of the cedi, resulting in lower prices of imported items,” government statistician Philomena Nyarko told a news conference.

Angola: Consumer inflation rose to 12.40 percent year-on-year in October from 11.66 percent in September, data released by Central Statistics Office of Angola on Thursday 12 November 2015. Prices rose 1.17 percent month-on-month in October from 1.08 percent in September. The year-on-year figure is based on data collected from the capital Luanda.

Namibia: The annual inflation rate for October 2015 increased moderately to 3.4 percent from 3.3 percent in the previous month, according to Namibia Statistics Agency on Thursday 12 November 2015. The average annual and average monthly inflation rates for the period January to October 2015 were estimated at 3.4 percent and 0.3 percent respectively while the corresponding rates registered during the same period a year earlier (2014) stood at 5.5 and 0.4 percent respectively. The monthly inflation rate for October 2015 increased to 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent recorded in the previous month.

Namibia’s trade deficit widened 50.5 percent to N$10.5 billion ($740 million) in the third quarter of 2015 versus a N$5.2 billion shortfall in the second quarter, the statistics office said on Thursday. The increase was due rising imports, which rose 22 percent in the third quarter to N$24.5 billion, the agency said.

South Africa: Mining production contracted unexpectedly by 4.8% in September (its lowest level in a year) compared to a year ago after increasing by a revised 3.6% year on year in August, Statistics South Africa data showed on Thursday 12 November 2015. The Statistics South Africa also released statistics for Manufacturing production (0.90 percent year-on-year in September vs. -0.30 percent in August), Platinum production (25.00 percent year-on-year in September against 63.00 percent year-on-year in August) and Gold production (-4.90 percent year-on-year  in September compared to -1.0 percent in August).

Botswana: The annual consumer inflation rate in October 2015 was 3.1 percent, an increase of 0.2 of a percentage point on the September 2015 rate of 2.9 percent, according to the data released by the Central Statistical Office, Botswana on Friday 13 November 2015. The annual inflation in October 2015 was lower than the 4.3 percent recorded during the same month in 2014. The deceleration in the annual inflation rate between October 2014 and October 2015 was due to the stable prices of commodities in the main component of Transport.

Cape Verde: Consumer Price Inflation fell to 0.40 percent year-on-year in October relatively to 0.60 percent in September, according to data released by the statistical office, on Friday 13 November 2015.

Malawi’s consumer inflation rose to 24.7 percent year-on-year in October from 24.1 in September, data from the National Statistical Office showed on Saturday.

Nigeria’s consumer inflation was 9.3 percent year on year in October compared with 9.4 percent in September, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Sunday 15 November, marking the first slowdown since November 2014. Food inflation also edged lower in October to 10.1 percent year-on-year versus 10.2 percent the previous month.