- Monday September 23rd, 2024
- Posted by: inscameroun
- Category:
In August 2024, consumer prices rose by 0.4% compared with the previous month and by 5.1% on average over the past
twelve months, mainly as a result of higher prices for local goods and services.
Compared with the previous month, household consumer prices edged up by 0.4%, following a moderate increase of 0.1% the previous month. This increase was mainly due to a 1.1% rise in food prices, which remain one of the main drivers of inflation. In addition, the components “housing, water, gas, electricity and other fuels”, “leisure and culture” and “education” recorded increases of 0.2%, 0.6% and 0.4% respectively. In contrast, transport prices fell slightly, mainly due to the decrease in the price of smuggled fuel called “zoua-zoua” or “fungen”, which comes from Nigeria in probably increasingly large quantities. The increase in food prices is largely accounted for by the increase in the price of vegetables, particularly fresh fruit or root vegetables, as well as fresh leafy vegetables. As for the increase in education costs, it is largely explained by the increase in tuition and registration fees in several private and denominational schools, especially in primary and secondary schools, for the 2024/2025 school year. Year-on-year, compared with the month of August 2023, the increase was 3.8%, due in particular to a 4.2% rise in food prices and a 10.7% increase in transport costs. Despite this increase, it is worth noting the trend towards a gradual decline in inflation since the fourth quarter of 2023. The average inflation rate over the past twelve months is 5.1%. This inflation is mainly driven by a 6.5% increase in food prices, as well as a significant 13.9% increase in transport costs, two consumption functions that account for approximately 44% of household final consumer spending. By region, inflation rates range from 4.2% to 7.1%, with the exception of Bertoua and Bamenda, which have relatively low rates of 3.9% and 3.3% respectively. Core inflation rate1 stood at 3.7%. This shows that inflation is not driven solely by increases in the prices of fresh produce and energy, which rose by 10.6% and 8.1% respectively. By produce origin, inflation is driven more by local goods and service prices. Over the same period, local produce prices increased by 5.4%, as against a more moderate increase of 4.1% for those of imported produce.