Rwanda’s urban consumer price index rose 5.8 percent year on year in May versus 4.5 percent in April, According to the National Institutes of Statistics of Rwanda.
The report published by the statistics agency indicates that Urban CPI increased by 5.8 percent on annual basis in May 2024 versus May 2023 and stable on monthly basis May 2024 to April 2024 while the annual average inflation rate between May 2024 and May 2023 was 8.4 percent.
Rural CPI decreased by 1.6 percent on annual basis and it decreased by 1.6 percent on monthly basis while Rwanda CPI increased by 1.3 percent on annual basis and it decreased by 1 percent on monthly basis.
‘Food and non-alcoholic beverages’ increased by 4.7 percent and Transport increased by 24.7 percent. The CPI for May 2024 was stable compared to April 2024.
The underlying inflation rate (excluding fresh food and energy) increased by 6.7 percent when compared to May 2023 and it decreased by 0.4 percent when compared to April 2024.
On annual basis, the local goods index increased by 4.3 percent, the imported goods index increased by 10.6 percent, the fresh products index increased by 3.2 percent, the energy index increased by 5.8 percent and the core index or the general index excluding fresh products and energy increased by 6.7 percent.
On monthly basis, the local goods index increased by 0.3 percent, the imported goods index decreased by 0.8 percent, the fresh products index increased by 0.6 percent, the energy index increased by 2 percent and the core index decreased by 0.4 percent.
In 2022, Rwanda recorded one of the highest inflation in over a decade with the annual urban inflation reaching 21.7 percent, even breaching the National Bank’s target range of between 2 and 8 percent.
According to the Central Bank, this year and 2025, headline inflation is projected to evolve around the medium-term target of 5.0 percent. The expected stable inflation path will be supported by easing food inflation in 2024, reflecting the expected decrease in international food prices as well as the normalization of domestic agricultural production.
However, the Central Bank warns that these projections could be affected by risks, such as heightened global geopolitical tensions and adverse weather conditions due to climate change.
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