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- Feb 11, 2006
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Rising food and fuel prices helped push Tanzania's annual inflation rate to 12.1 percent in August from 10.9 percent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday.
Like neighbouring Uganda and Kenya, Tanzania's inflation has been in the double-digits since last year due to rising commodity prices and hit 13.5 percent in December.
'The increase in the rate of inflation was mainly attributed to the increase of food inflation from 16.9 percent registered in the year ended July to 18.9 percent in the year ended August 2009,' NBS said in a statement on its website.
Among food prices that increased were cereals, cassava, potatoes, fruits, fish and milk, NBS said. Food has a 55.9 percent weight in the East African economy's basket of goods used to measure inflation.
Central Bank of Tanzania Governor Benno Ndulu told Reuters in an interview on Monday that the government intends to lower food's weight to about 42 or 43 percent.
Tanzania's annual inflation rate crossed into double-digits last September for the first time in nearly ten years.
Excluding food, Tanzania's inflation rate in August jumped to 2.0 percent from 1.9 percent in July. Among non-food items, the prices of kerosene, diesel, petrol and taxi fare rose.
Tanzania's average annual inflation rate stood at 10.3 percent in 2008, or 6.7 percent excluding food.
The central bank said in late May it saw annual inflation at 11 percent by June, and down to 6 percent by 2010.
In Kenya, east Africa's biggest economy, the headline rate was at 18.4 percent in August, while it stood at 12.4 percent in Uganda.
On a monthly basis, non-food inflation inched higher by 0.9 percent compared with July, while food prices rose by 0.1 percent.
Tanzania's monetary policy targets an inflation rate of 5 percent in the medium term.
The International Monetary Fund earlier in the year said it projects inflation falling to 7 percent by end-year because of lower food prices.
Bank of Tanzania said in its Monetary Policy Statement for 2009/10 that inflation remained above target, presenting a threat to future growth and productivity in east Africa's second biggest economy.
Source: Reuters
Sept 15, 2009
Like neighbouring Uganda and Kenya, Tanzania's inflation has been in the double-digits since last year due to rising commodity prices and hit 13.5 percent in December.
'The increase in the rate of inflation was mainly attributed to the increase of food inflation from 16.9 percent registered in the year ended July to 18.9 percent in the year ended August 2009,' NBS said in a statement on its website.
Among food prices that increased were cereals, cassava, potatoes, fruits, fish and milk, NBS said. Food has a 55.9 percent weight in the East African economy's basket of goods used to measure inflation.
Central Bank of Tanzania Governor Benno Ndulu told Reuters in an interview on Monday that the government intends to lower food's weight to about 42 or 43 percent.
Tanzania's annual inflation rate crossed into double-digits last September for the first time in nearly ten years.
Excluding food, Tanzania's inflation rate in August jumped to 2.0 percent from 1.9 percent in July. Among non-food items, the prices of kerosene, diesel, petrol and taxi fare rose.
Tanzania's average annual inflation rate stood at 10.3 percent in 2008, or 6.7 percent excluding food.
The central bank said in late May it saw annual inflation at 11 percent by June, and down to 6 percent by 2010.
In Kenya, east Africa's biggest economy, the headline rate was at 18.4 percent in August, while it stood at 12.4 percent in Uganda.
On a monthly basis, non-food inflation inched higher by 0.9 percent compared with July, while food prices rose by 0.1 percent.
Tanzania's monetary policy targets an inflation rate of 5 percent in the medium term.
The International Monetary Fund earlier in the year said it projects inflation falling to 7 percent by end-year because of lower food prices.
Bank of Tanzania said in its Monetary Policy Statement for 2009/10 that inflation remained above target, presenting a threat to future growth and productivity in east Africa's second biggest economy.
Source: Reuters
Sept 15, 2009
