Inflation up 8.9% in July

According to Statistics Botswana, headline inflation rose from 8.2 percent in June to 8.9 percent in July 2021, remaining above the upper bound of the Bank of Botswana’s medium-term objective range of three to six percent, and significantly higher than the 0.9 percent in July 2020. The rise in inflation between June and July 2021 is mainly due to the upward adjustment in domestic fuel prices in July 2021, with the annual price change for Transport increasing from 17.4% to 20.19%. Annual price changes also increased with respect to Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance (from 3.7 percent to 4.3 percent); Miscellaneous Goods and Services from six percent to 6.6 percent; and Communication from 1.6 to 1.7 percent. However, the upward inflation pressure was partially offset by inflation falling with respect to Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco from 9.3 to 8.2 percent; Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages from 6.8 to 6.5 percent; Clothing and Footwear from 3.7 to 3.5 percent; Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels from 8.6 to 8.4 percent; Health from 2.9 to 2.7 percent; Restaurants and Hotels from 3.5 to 3.3 percent; Recreation and Culture from 4.5 to 4.4 percent. Inflation remained unchanged for Education at 1.8 percent. The 16% trimmed mean inflation and inflation excluding administered prices increased from 7.9 percent and 6.8 percent to 8.4 percent and seven percent, respectively, in the same period.