Africa-Press – Namibia. Namibian inflation has taken a sharp turn upwards in the first quarter of 2024, driven largely by rising costs in the mining and power generation sectors.
These two sectors contributed to the highest increases in inflation on the Namibia producer price index during the first quarter of this year.
The index for water provision has remained unchanged since the second quarter of 2020.
Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) chief executive Alex Shimuafeni says the producer price index (PPI) measures the rate of change in the prices of goods and services bought and sold by local producers.
According to a bulletin released by the NSA yesterday, covering the first quarter of 2024, mining and quarrying covers section indices of uranium, non-ferrous metals (copper, gold, lead and zinc) and other mining and quarrying (diamonds).
The index for mining and quarrying increased to 135,3 basis points from 125,8 basis points recorded during the first quarter of last year.
This increase translated into an annual inflation rate of 7,5%, compared to a deflation of 2,1% recorded in the same quarter of 2023.
URANIUM
The index for the mining of uranium and thorium ores rose by 33,8 basis points, from 89 basis points in the first quarter of 2023 to 122,8 in the first quarter of this year.
This registered an inflation rate of 3,8%, compared to 1,2% recorded during the same period last year.
The index for mining of other non-ferrous metal ores, including copper, lead, zinc and gold, recorded a growth of 15,4% during the quarter under review, compared to 4,8% recorded during the same period of the preceding year.
The index for the mining and extraction of diamonds, which is a significant economic activity in Namibia’s mining sector, dropped by 20 basis points to 110 basis points, from 130 basis points recorded in the same quarter of last year.
The category recorded a deflation of 15,4% in the level of prices during the first quarter of 2024, compared to an increase of 4,8% recorded a year ago.
For the first quarter of 2024, the index for the processing and preserving of meat, manufacturing of malt liquors and malt, and soft drinks, dropped to 178 basis points, compared to 181,4 basis points recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.
This resulted in a decline of 1,8% growth in prices.
MEAT PROCESSING
The PPI for the processing and preserving of meat dropped to 186,4 basis points in the first quarter of 2024, from 197,4 basis points recorded in the same quarter of 2023.
The annual inflation rate for this category declined by 5,6% in the quarter under review, compared to an increase of 7,5% recorded in the same quarter of the preceding year.
In the first quarter of 2024 the index for the manufacturing of malt liquors and malt rose to 152,8 basis points, compared to 136,4 basis points recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2023.
The PPI for the manufacturing of soft drinks, the production of mineral waters and other bottled waters, increased to 142,7 basis points during the quarter under review from 133,7 basis points registered in the same quarter of 2023.
The annual inflation rate for this category rose by 6,7% compared to 7,3% recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Meanwhile, the PPI for the manufacturing of cement, lime and plaster registered a growth of 9,9% in the prices of these products, when compared to 90,7 basis points recorded in the same quarter of last year.
The index for the manufacturing of basic precious and non-ferrous metals decreased by 0,8 basis points to 250,2 basis points in the quarter under review, from 251 basis points recorded in the corresponding quarter of the preceding year.
The annual inflation rate for these products declined by 0,3% in the quarter under review, compared to an increase of 4,9% recorded during the same period of last year.
For the first quarter of 2024 the index for electric power generation, transmission and distribution increased to 120,3 basis points as opposed to 110,2 basis points registered in the first quarter of 2023.
The annual inflation rate for local electric power generation, transmission and distribution increased by 9,2% in the quarter under review, compared to a decline of 0,8% recorded in the same quarter of 2023.
The PPI for water collection, treatment and supply remained stagnant at 144,3 basis points since the second quarter of 2019.
The annual percentage producer price index for this category remained unchanged at 0% since the second quarter of 2020.
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