- Inflation decreased to 7.9% in April but remains above BoB’s medium-term objective range
GAZETTE REPORTER
Botswana witnessed a decline in headline inflation, dropping from 9.9 percent in March to 7.9 percent in April 2023.
Although the figure marked a decrease, it remained above the Bank of Botswana’s (BoB) medium-term objective range of 3-6 percent and was lower compared to April 2022’s rate of 9.6 percent.
According to a recently published statement from BoB, the decrease in inflation between March and April 2023 can be primarily attributed to base effects resulting from the upward adjustment in domestic fuel prices and Botswana Housing Corporation rentals in April 2022.
Offset
“Meanwhile, there were partially offsetting movements in the annual price change for some categories of goods and services, while for the rest, prices were unchanged,” says the statement.
BoB says inflation saw a decline in several sectors and cites transport which experienced a decrease from 17 percent to 11.2 percent, while Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels dropped from 4.6 percent to 1.7 percent.
Similarly, Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages went down from 17.8 percent to 16.6 percent, Recreation and Culture from 3 percent to 2.6 percent, and Education from 5.4 percent to 5.2 percent.
However, the downward pressure on inflation was partly offset by an increase in certain sectors.
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco rose from 3.2 percent to 4.4 percent, Miscellaneous Goods and Services increased from 8.6 percent to 9.3 percent, Health rose from 3.3 percent to 3.6 percent, Restaurants and Hotels went up from 6.3 percent to 6.6 percent, and Clothing and Footwear saw a slight increase from 6.2 percent to 6.3 percent.
Trimmed mean inflation
Inflation remained unchanged for Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance at 7.3 percent, as well as Communication at 2.5 percent.
Similarly, the 16 percent trimmed mean inflation and inflation excluding administered prices also experienced a decrease. The trimmed mean inflation declined from 9.2 percent to 7.1 percent, while inflation excluding administered prices dropped from 8.9 percent to 8.3 percent during the same period.