The cost of living escalating in Namibia

PHILLEPUS UUSIKUTransport, food and non-alcoholic beverages and furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance categories were the main drivers of inflation in July 2021, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) said. Overall, annual inflation rate increased by 4.0% in July 2021, compared to 2.1% recorded in July 2020, an increase of 1.9 percentage points.The transport category carries the third largest weight of 14.28% in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the NSA and contributed 35.8% to the total change in annual inflation. The two main contributors out of the three subcategories were operation of personal transport equipment and purchase of vehicles which increased to 14.2% year-on-year and 9.9% year-on-year in July 2021 respectively compared to 13.1% year-on-year and 8.5% year-on-year in June 2021, NSA said.According to Simonis Storm (SS), “we forecast local petrol prices at N$13.95 by the end of this year, owing to higher expected Brent Crude prices. We do anticipate an increase in local fuel prices in September 2021 by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.”In addition, the food and non-alcoholic beverages category carries the second a weight of 16.5%, the second largest after the housing category. The food category contributed 27.4% to the total change in annual inflation. Only one out of the thirteen subcategories (sugar, jam, honey, syrups and chocolates) recorded negative growth, down by 0.4% year-on-year in July 2021. The largest contributor was the oils and fats subcategory up 17.4% year-on-year in July 2021, NSA pointed out.Supply constraints Together with supply constraints such as shipping delays, food prices are expected to remain elevated in the coming months, SS said.Moreover, the furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance category with a weight of 5.47% contributed 7.2% to the total change in annual inflation, NSA added.The three biggest contributors out of the nine subcategories were household textiles which slowed to 13.8% year-on-year, compared to 14.7% year-on-year in the prior month.Carpets and other floor coverings which increased to 16.2% year-on-year compared to 14.4% year-on-year in the prior month and glassware, tableware and household utensils which slowed to 13.1% year-on-year compared to 13.6% year-on-year in the prior month.With regard to the zones, Zone 1 (Northern regions) annual inflation rate increased by 3.8% in July 2021 compared to 2.1% registered in July 2020.In addition, Zone 2 (Khomas) annual inflation rate was estimated at 3.6% compared to 2.5% recorded in July 2020. Lastly, Zone 3 (//Kharas, Erongo, Hardap and Omaheke) annual inflation rate increased by 5.0% in July 2021 compared to 1.5% recorded in July 2020, NSA said.-phillep@nmh.com.na

The cost of living escalating in Namibia

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Republikein 2025-08-28

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The cost of living escalating in Namibia

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