Consumer prices accelerated for the third consecutive month in July, largely due to an in increase in the price of services, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.
The consumer price index rose by 4 per cent from a year earlier, faster than June’s jump of 3.9 per cent. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, quickened for the fourth straight month to 4 per cent, the highest in 13 months, driven by higher services prices — passenger transport services, in particular.
Prices for food crops and related items climbed 2 per cent year on year, up from 0.5 per cent in June and the biggest increase since January. Matooke prices were the notable impetus, along with Irish potato and cabbage prices.
The 12-month energy inflation rate was 6.2 per cent, the lowest this year, slowing from 10.3 per cent in June. Liquid fuel prices rose 5.1 per cent in the year to July compared with 5.3 per cent in the previous month, while solid fuel inflation was 13.3 per cent (June: 21.1 per cent).
On a monthly basis, the headline CPI was unchanged at 0 per cent, the same rate as in June. The core CPI rose 0.2 per cent, slightly less than the 0.3 per cent jump in the previous month. Services inflation rose 0.3 per cent, down from 0.4 per cent in June, while other goods inflation slowed from 0.3 per cent to 0.1 per cent.
Food crop prices fell by 1.6 per cent on the month, slower than in June when they declined by 2.5 per cent. Energy prices, on the other hand, grew by 0.1 per cent, the same rate as in the previous month, with solid fuels contributing the most to the increase.
