Tanzania’s inflation increases slightly to 4.1pc in Feb

Dar es Salaam. The headline inflation increased slightly to 4.1 per cent in February from 4 per cent recorded during the previous months.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) monthly consumer price index for February released yesterday showed that, this was lower than 5.5 per cent recorded in February 2017. The increase of the headline inflation explains that, the speed of price change for commodities in the year ending February, 2018 has increased compared to the speed of price change recorded in the year ended January, 2018.

The overall index went up to 111.33 in February, 2018 from 106.97 recorded in February, 2017.

Food and Non Alcoholic Beverages Inflation Rate for the month of February, 2018 has decreased to 5.4 per cent from 6.3 per cent recorded in January, 2018. NBS’s Population, Census and Social Statistics director Ephraim Kwesigabo said slight increase was contributed by increase in non-food item. “Unlike the previous period whereby food items played great role in the increase of inflation, this time around, non-food items contributed to the increase while food items and beverages decreased from 6.3 to 5.4 per cent,” said Mr Kwesigabo. Some of the non-food items attributed to overall increase in CPI include fresh fish (4.9 per cent), vegetables (4.2 per cent), round potatoes (3.2 per cent) and bananas (4.3 per cent).

Other non-food items that contributed to such an increase include charcoal by (17.6 per cent), kerosene by (9.9 per cent), petroleum (13.1 per cent), diesel (11.3 per cent), men clothes and shoes (3.4 per cent) and women items by (3.8 per cent).