AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE annual headline inflation rate for the month of February, 2021 has decreased from 3.5 per cent that was recorded in January, 2021 to 3.3 per cent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday.
Releasing the statistics yesterday, the acting director of population census and social statistics, Ruth Davison said, “The decrease of the headline inflation explains that, the speed of price change for commodities for the year ended February, 2021 has decreased compared to the speed that was recorded for the year ended January, 2021”
She noted that the decrease in annual headline inflation rate for the month of February,2021 is mainly attributed to the decrease of prices for non-food items for the year ended February 2021, compared to the prices recorded in February 2020.
Some of the non-food items that shows a price decrease for the month of February, 2021 compared to the prices for the month of February, 2020 includes, furniture by 5.3 percent, kerosene (15.7), household appliances like electric iron (4.7), house hold utensils (3.3), diesel (22.8) and petrol (13.4).
According to the acting director, food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation rate has increased from2.8 percent in January, 2021 to 3.6 percent in February, 2021.
Minja noted that in comparison with other East Africa countries of Kenya and Uganda, the annual headline inflation rate in Kenya for the year ended February, 2021 has increased from 5.69 percent recorded for the year ended January, 2021 to 5.78 percent for the year ended February, 2021.
In Uganda, the annual headline inflation rate for the year ended February, 2021 has also increased from 3.7 percent for the year ended January,2021 to 3.8 percent for the year ended February,2021.
NBS stated that there was a relatively stable price movement from January, 2020 to January, 2021, adding that annual headline inflation rates over the same period have shown a stable trend that range between 3.0 percent in November, 2020 and 3.7 percent recorded in January and February, 2020.
According to the acting director, the overall index went up from 98.07 recorded in January, 2020 to 101.53 in January, 2021.
She added that food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation rate has decreased from 3.0 percent in December, 2020 to 2.8 percent in January, 2021.
Annual inflation rate for unprocessed food stands at 1.4 percent in January, 2021 while inflation rate for all items without unprocessed food stands at 3.7 percent.
Minja noted that the national consumer price index has increased by 0.8 percent between December, 2020 and January, 2021.
The same increase was recorded between November and December, 2020. “The overall index has increased from 100.73 in December, 2020 to 101.53 in January, 2021”, she said
