The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) reports that the headline annual inflation rate for October 2024 dropped to 3.0%, down from 6.0% in October 2023 driven by housing, food, and beverages.
NSA said key drivers of the inflation included housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels adding 1.1 percentage points, food and non-alcoholic beverages contributing 1.0 points, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 0.7 points.
Meanwhile, on a monthly basis, the inflation rate witnessed an increase of 0.4% compared to a deflation of 0.2% recorded a month ago.
“The highest change in the annual inflation rates was witnessed in the categories of hotels, cafés, and restaurants (5.4%); food and non-alcoholic beverages (5.1%); alcoholic beverages and tobacco (4.8%), and recreation and culture,” said the NSA.
This comes as during October 2024, the core inflation rate stood at 4.0% while the headline inflation rate was at 3.0%.
Core inflation refers to a measure of inflation that excludes certain volatile elements from the overall inflation calculation.
These volatile elements typically include food and energy prices, which tend to experience significant price swings due to factors such as weather conditions, geopolitical events, or changes in supply and demand.
Moreover, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel components account for 28.4% of the consumer basket.
“The annual inflation rate for this category recorded an increase of 4.4% during October 2024 compared to an increase of 3.3% observed in October 2023,” said NSA.
On a monthly basis, the inflation rate for the category registered an increase of 1.0%, compared to a deflation of 0.1% observed during the previous month.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, which account for 16.5% of the NCPI basket, registered an annual inflation rate of 5.1% in October 2024, compared to 9.4% witnessed during October 2023.
In October, the price levels for this category stood at 0.3% in October 2024, unchanged when compared to the preceding month.
Meanwhile, the transport category, which accounts for 14.3% of the consumer basket, registered a deflation rate of -2.9% during October 2024, compared to an increase of 6.6% observed in the same month of the preceding year.
“The decrease in the annual inflation rate for this component was mainly reflected in the subcomponent of operation of personal transport equipment (from 7.5% to -6.6%),” said NSA.
On a monthly basis, the inflation rate for this category deflated by 0.7% in October 2024, compared to a deflation of 1.9% witnessed a month ago.
“In October 2024, zonal inflation rates showed Zone 2 (Khomas region) with the highest rate at 4.2%, while Zone 1 (Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, and Zambezi) and Zone 3 (//Kharas, Erongo, Hardap, Omaheke) each recorded 2.3%,” said NSA.
The analysis of the average retail prices of selected products for October 2024 revealed that consumers in Zone 1 paid the highest price for petrol per litre at N$20.93, followed by consumers in Zone 3 at N$20.89, while consumers in Zone 2 paid the lowest price of N$20.74.
In addition, consumers in Zone 2 paid the highest price for Pure Sunflower per 750 ml at N$31.30, followed by consumers in Zone 3 at N$30.89, while consumers in Zone 1 paid the lowest price of N$30.62.
