Inflation eases to 18-month low

The annual pace of Uganda’s inflation eased in August to its lowest level since February 2022, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.

The consumer price index climbed 3.5 per cent compared to a year earlier, a slight step down from the 3.9 per cent annual growth registered in May and marking the tenth consecutive slowdown.

The closely monitored core consumer prices index, which strips out prices of volatile items like food and energy, slowed down to 3.3 per cent year on year in August, down from 3.8 per cent the previous month and the slowest increase since February 2022.

Consumer prices edged up 0.6 per cent on a monthly basis, higher than the 0 per cent growth reported in July.

Energy, fuel, and utilities prices fell 2.7 per cent compared to the same month last year, down from a decline of 1.6 per cent in July.

The food crops and related items index was up 9.8 per cent on the year, a faster growth rate than July’s 9.3 per cent rise. Ubos said this was because of an increase in the annual prices of round onions, mangoes, pawpaws, and oranges.