Declines in the growth of transport costs, resulting from the relaxation of Covid-19 lockdown measures, and the prices of alcohol, tobacco, and narcotics led to a fall in Uganda’s inflation in January.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics said Monday the consumer prices index – which measures the prices of goods and services bought by households – rose 2.7 per cent in January from the same month a year ago, down from 2.9 per cent in December 2021.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.3 per cent in the year to January, a slower increase than December’s 2.9 per cent and the lowest rate in three months. The 12-month services inflation rate climbed by 0.0 per cent in January compared to 1.5 per cent the previous month, and was the biggest contributor to the lower pace of core inflation.
However, annual energy, fuel, and utilities prices increased by 6.5 per cent, up from 3.2 per cent in December last year. Petrol prices rose 30.5 per cent year on year in January compared to 19.2 per cent the previous month, following a mid-month spike in fuel prices caused by a build-up of petroleum road fuel tankers at the border with Kenya as drivers protested Uganda’s harsh Covid-19 entry testing requirements.
On a monthly basis, consumer inflation fell 0.3 per cent in January from the previous month, compared to the 0.5 per cent increase recorded in December. That was the lowest since November 2020, when the monthly rate declined by 0.5 per cent.
The decline in the monthly inflation rate was due to a 5.3 per cent fall in transport inflation, down from the 2.4 per cent rise registered in December, and the 0.2 per cent decline in inflation for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and narcotics, down from the 1.4 per cent climb reported in December.
