Consumers paying more for the same quantity

PHILLEPUS UUSIKU Prices of transport, miscellaneous goods and services, and food continue to rise as they were the main drivers of inflation in May this year.Consumers will have pay more for the same quantity of goods or alternatively cut down on their consumption levels due to the increase in prices of goods and services.According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), food and non-alcoholic beverages category which accounts for 16.5% of the consumer basket increased by 6.6% in May 2021, while transport which accounts for 14.3% of the basket was 7.3% more expensive than a year ago. Miscellaneous goods and services rose by 6.7%.Other main categories based on the consumer basket weight such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco which accounts for 12.6% of the basket increased by 3.5% while housing, water electricity, gas and other fuels which accounts for 28.4% of the basket increased by 1.3%, NSA pointed out.On average, for every N$100 that a consumer has in their wallet, N$16.50, N$5.40 and N$14.30 is likely to spend on transport, miscellaneous goods and food, respectively. Overall, the annual inflation rate for May 2021 stood at 3.8%, up from 2.1% recorded in May 2020. On a monthly basis, the inflation rate increased by 0.3% in May 2021 lower than the 0.4% increase obtained during the previous month, NSA said.According to Simonis Storm (SS, “We expect the Bank of Namibia (BoN) to keep interest rates unchanged for the remainder of 2021. While inflation risks are on the rise, we expect monetary policy to remain accommodative to stimulate economic recovery post the Covid-19 pandemic.With this said, we forecast average annual inflation for 2021 to be 3.5% as both upside and downside risks to inflation remain balanced.”ZonesWith regard to the zones, Zone 3 (//Kharas, Erongo, Hardap and Omaheke) recorded the highest inflation rate of 4.4%, followed by Zone 1 (Northern regions) and Zone 2 (Windhoek) each recording 3.7% and 3.4%, respectively.The increase in the annual inflation rate of Zone 1 resulted mainly from increases in the price levels of transport from 0.4% to 9.4%, food and non-alcoholic beverages from 4.9% to 6.5%, furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house from 5.2% to 6.5% and hotels cafes and restaurants from 1.1% to 4.8%, NSA pointed out.As for Zone 2, The increase was mainly due to increases in the price levels of Food and non-alcoholic beverages from 4.5% to 7.7%, miscellaneous goods and services from 6.2% to 7.2%, transport from 0.0% to 5.6%, health from 3.8% to 5.2%, furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house from 2.5% to 4.8%, Alcohol beverages and tobacco from 2.5 percent to 3.8% and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels from -1.1 percent to 0.5%.Lastly, the increase in Zone 3 resulted mainly from increases in price levels recorded in miscellaneous goods and services from 4.6% to 10.6%, alcoholic, beverage and tobacco from 4.1% to 6.5%, transport from -1.3% to 6.2%, food and non – alcoholic beverages from 4.5% to 5.2%, recreation and culture from 1.3% to 3.7%, communication from 0.8% to 3.3% and housing water, electricity, gas and other fuels from 0.2% to 3.2%, NSA said.

Consumers paying more for the same quantity

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Republikein 2025-05-14

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Consumers paying more for the same quantity

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