Radar | Jan 11,2020
Headline Inflation Slightly Down
July 6 , 2019
By FASIKA TADESSE ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )
For the first time in seven months, headline inflation showed a slight decline last month, falling to 15.4pc, according to the latest Consumer Price Index.
The rate, which indicates the cost of living, has shown a 0.8 percentage point slide from May, which recorded a 16.2pc rate, an 11-month high, according to data from the Central Statistical Agency.
Last June, both food and non-food inflation rates showed a slight decrease to 19.8pc and 10.2pc, respectively, from the previous month that had 20.7pc for food and 11.1pc for non-food inflation.
The price of major cereal types such as teff, rice, barley, sorghum and maize and most vegetables showed a rise, while prices of wheat and bread, some vegetables, fruits and pulses showed a small decline.
Non-food inflation was also pushed up by price hikes of some components such as clothing and footwear, house rent, housing repair and maintenance, energy, household goods and furnishings, health care and automobiles.
Even though the rate has shown a slight decline from the previous month, the rate is the second highest since June 2018, which saw a rate of 16.8pc - the highest in two years.
The rate is short of targets set by policymakers, who aspire to keep inflationary pressure in single digit figures. However, the rate has remained near or in double-digit territory for the past two consecutive years.
During the current fiscal year, the government planned to keep the rate under 10pc in all directions, paring it down from 16.8pc, according to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), who addressed the parliament last Monday.
"We understand the pressure the rate would bear on investment, lives of the citizens with low-income level status," said Abiy. "Thus, a joint effort is very essential to control the rate."
Last month, the macroeconomic committee chaired by Prime Minister Abiy formed a new task force to explore the causes of rising inflation and come up with recommendations to keep the rate down.
The six-member task force is composed of experts from the National Planning & Development Commission; ministries of Trade & Industry, Finance and Agriculture; the Central Statistical Agency; and the National Bank of Ethiopia.
Chaired by Getachew Adem, deputy chief of the National Planning & Development Commission, the task force will regularly follow up on the inflation rate and conduct research to forward recommendations to the macroeconomic committee. The team has already started collecting data for the study.
Ethiopia's inflation rate is almost three times higher as compared to neighbouring Kenya that managed to keep its inflationary pressure at 5.7pc, according to tradingeconomics.com, a New York-based website that provides information on economic indicators, exchange rates and stock market indexes of 196 countries.
PUBLISHED ON
Jul 06,2019 [ VOL
20 , NO
1001]
Related Posts
Fortune News | Jun 23,2019
Fortune News | May 09,2020
Fortune News | Mar 09,2019
Fortune News | Aug 10,2019
Agenda | Dec 28,2019
Fortune News | Aug 08,2020
Featured | Sep 28,2019
Fortune News | Jan 26,2019
Editors' Pick
Covid-19
HEALTH FALLOUT
August 8 , 2020 . By MAYA MISIKIR
On any day, the waiting hall of Black Lion Hospital is not a sight for the faint-hearted. Patients seeking treatment find themselves maroone...
Agenda
Essential Healthcare Continuity During COVID-19: A Juggling Act
August 8 , 2020 . By MAYA MISIKIR
Shemsu Hussien was transported in an ambulance from his hometown in Worabe, Silte Zone to Addis Abeba whi...
Editorial
Green Legacy Too Green for Its Ambitions
August 8 , 2020
A familiar sight these days is high government officials - the very important people - hunched over muddy...
Commentaries
Policy Banks, Proper Allies in Effort to Stimulate Economy
August 8 , 2020 . By Atsebaha Abay
There are currently a number of initiatives that are mobilising large sums of money to address different...
Commentaries
Fineline
Editorial
Green Legacy Too Green for Its Ambitions
August 8 , 2020
A familiar sight these days is high government officials - the very important people...
In the Absence of Fair Play, Radicalism Crowds Out Moderation
August 1 , 2020
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) had an audience with leaders of the opposition bloc ...
Hunger Spectre Casts Long, Ominous Shadow. Time to Get Ready
July 25 , 2020
The economic indicators for Ethiopia this fiscal year are less than encouraging, even...
In Fight to Win Narrative, State Needs to Remain Impartial
July 18 , 2020
In the past two years, it was perhaps the events of the first week of this month that...
