Average prices rose slightly in august

Maputo, 12 Sep (AIM) – The average level of prices in Mozambique rose slightly in August, according to the latest figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Nationally, prices rose by 0.68 per cent in August. The most significant price rises during the month listed by the INE were for dried fish (up by 30.2 per cent), garlic (20.3 per cent), unmilled maize (11.3 per cent), potatoes (9.9 per cent), okra (10.2 per cent), and dried prawns (6.3 per cent).

But several goods went in the other direction and displayed price falls. These included charcoal (down by three per cent), cabbage (5.2 per cent), butter beans (2.7 per cent), maize flour (1.7 per cent) and vegetable oil (1.3 per cent).

The accumulated inflation, from January to August, was 1.66 per cent, mostly due to rises in food prices.

August was the first month of inflation, following three months of very slight deflation. Prices fell by 0.38 per cent in April, 0.36 per cent in May, 0.07 per cent in June, and 0.22 per cent in July.

The yearly inflation rate in August was 4.79 per cent. The annual rate was 3.96 per cent in July, 4.15 per cent in June, and four per cent in May. The last time the annual inflation rate was over ten per cent, was in March 2023, when it hit 10.02 per cent.

2025 has followed the normal pattern for seasonal prices in Mozambique – a slow rise in inflation in the first months of the year, followed by slight deflation in the middle of the year, as the main harvests are brought in. Judging from past experience, prices will start rising again, in the period immediately prior to the festive season (October/November).
(AIM)
Pf/ (294)