Uganda prices steady in September as inflation dips

October 1, 2018 in Business, Energy, Markets, Trade & Industry by Editor

October 1, 2018—Prices in Uganda held largely steady during the past month according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) with no noticeable spikes to cause concern.

Rains during September helped to keep market foodstuff prices down and concerns over fuel prices were far less than in August.

Uganda’s Annual Headline Inflation fell off slightly to 3.7 percent during September 2018 compared to 3.8 percent in August, but Core Inflation went up to 3.9 percent from 3.5 percent in the same interlude.

The Monthly Headline Inflation for September 2018 has been recorded at a 0.8 percent increase from the 0.9 percent rise recorded in August 2018. The Monthly Core Inflation increased by 0.5 percent in September 2018 from the 1.0 percent rise recorded in August 2018.

According to UBOS, the decline in Headline Inflation is largely attributed to the Annual Food Crops and Related Items Inflation for the year ending September 2018, which decelerated to minus 2.2 percent compared to minus 1.2 percent recorded for the year ended August 2018. This deceleration is due to Annual Fruits Inflation that registered minus 4.6 percent for the year ending September 2018 compared to minus 2.3 percent recorded for the year ended August 2018. In addition, the Annual Vegetables Inflation decreased to minus 3.4 percent for the year ending September 2018 compared to minus 2.6 percent recorded for the year ended August 2018.

The Annual Energy, Fuels and Utilities (EFU) Inflation declined to 10.1 pc for the year ending September 2018 compared to the 14.1 pc recorded for the year ended August 2018. The decrease in EFU is largely attributed to Solid Fuels that registered 11.7 pc for the year ending September 2018 compared to the 23.4 pc recorded for the year ended August 2018. In particular, Charcoal Inflation decreased to 12 pc for the year ending September 2018 compared to the 24.3 pc recorded during the year ended August 2018. Similarly, Firewood Annual Inflation declined to 5.6 percent for the year ending September 2018 compared to the 6.5 percent recorded during the year ended August 2018.

The slight rise in core inflation was due to Annual Other Goods Inflation registered at 3.4 percent for the year ending September 2018 compared to 2.3 percent recorded for the year ended August 2018. In particular, Clothing and Footwear Inflation rose to 7.2 percent for the year ending September 2018 compared to the 3.7 percent recorded in August 2018. However, Services Inflation declined to 4.5 percent for the year ending September 2018 compared to 5.3 percent recorded for year ended August 2018.

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