The national inflation slowed down last month but its weakening trend still comes as a surprise to the market, looking at recent events locally and internationally that could be deemed inflationary.
Statistics Botswana said on its monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) that in July 2011, national year-on-year inflation rate stood at 7.8 percent, registering a decrease of 0.1 of a percentage point from 7.9 percent in June 2011.
Group indices were generally stable between June and July, with only four group indices recording changes of at most 0.9 percent between the two months, Clothing & Footwear (0.9 percent), Restaurants & Hotels (0.5 percent), Furnishing, Household Equipment and Maintenance (0.4 percent) and Housing, Water & Electricity (0.4 percent).
The Clothing & Footwear group index recorded an increase of 0.9 percent from 133.1 in June to 134.4 in July. The increase was a result of the constituent section indices of clothing, which increased by 1.6 percent.
The Restaurants & Hotels group index registered an increase of 0.5 percent from 182.5 in June to 183.4 in July.
“The increase was a result of the constituent section indices of Restaurants, Caf├®’s and the like, which increased by 0.5 percent”, Statistics Office said.
The Furnishing, Household Equipment and Maintenance group index registered an increase of 0.4 percent, from 148.9 to 149.5 between June and July.
The rise was due to the general price increase in the constituent items, notably those for the section indices of Goods & Services for H/hold Maintenance (0.5 percent), Small tools, Miscellaneous Accessories (0.4 percent), Furniture & Furnishing (0.4 percent) and Household Appliances (0.4 percent).
The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels group index moved from 137.6 in June to 138.2 in July recording an increase of 0.4 percent. This was largely attributed to a rise in the constituent section index of Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels section indices, which recorded an increase of 1.1 percent, between June and July.
The Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages index group moved from 166.6 to 167.0, registering an increase of 0.3 percent between June and July. The increase was attributed to the general rise in the constituent section indices, notably, Meat (Fresh, Chilled & Frozen) (1.0 Percent), Food not elsewhere Classified (0.9 Percent) and Oils & Fats (0.8 percent).
