Headline inflation, an indicator of the cost of living, slowed down in January, reaching 34.5pc, according to the latest consumer price index from the Ethiopian Statistical Service. The rate is slightly lower than the headline inflation of 35.1pc recorded last December, the highest seen in nearly a decade. The report details that food inflation clocked in at 39.9pc while non-food inflation surged to 27.3pc. The Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State was worst affected, recording a 45.4pc annual increase followed by Harari Regional State at 41.7pc. Headline inflation in Addis Abeba sat at a little over 32.4pc, the second-lowest next to the Amhara Regional State. Inflation rates have been inclining over the past couple of years, first hitting the 30pc mark last August. The report indicates that inflation rates in Tigray Regional State "remain the same." However, a report released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) last year identified hyperinflation in Shire and Meqelle. It conducted a rapid assessment beginning last June on ten household items including benzene, cooking oil, bread and salt. It reported that a litre of benzene increased 2,300pc to 600 Br in Meqelle, while the retail price of a litre of cooking oil quintupled in Shire, at 500 Br a litre.
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