Stable March Inflation Rate Holds Firm At 3.0%”

The annual headline inflation rate for the month of March remains unchanged at 3.0 per cent, the same as the previous month.

This indicates that prices of various goods during the period under review have remained stable.

“The stagnation of the headline inflation explains that the speed of price change for commodities for the year ended March has remained the same as that recorded for the year ended February,” the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) report for March has unveiled.

The overall index rose from 112.13 in March of the previous year to 115.51 in March of the current year. Additionally, the inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages has decreased from 1.8 percent in the previous month to 1.4 percent.

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On the other hand, the annual inflation rate for all items without food and non alcoholic beverages for March has increased to 3.7 per cent from the 3.5 per cent that was recorded in February this year.

The core index calculation excludes items with fluctuating prices such as unprocessed food, energy, and utilities, except for maize flour.

Excluding volatile prices from the total NCPI offers a more stable inflation rate figure for policymakers. The core index includes 297 items, accounting for 73.9 percent of the total NCPI weight.

The inflation rate for the core index rose to 3.9 percent in March from 3.7 percent in February this year.

The National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) rose by 0.8 percent between February and March, mainly due to price hikes in certain food and non-food items.

Some food items contributing to the index increase are wheat grains (1.2%), finger millet grains (2.3%), beef (4.0%), sardines (5.4%), and fruits (2.8%).

Vegetables saw a 4.7% increase, while Irish potatoes (2.3%), sweet potatoes (1.4%), cassava (5.7%), cooking bananas (4.4%), beans (1.9%), and peas (1.5%) also rose in price. Non-food items such as firewood (3.4%), diesel (1.6%), petrol (3.0%), and passenger transport by road (bus, taxi, motorcycle, train) (1.8%) contributed to the index increase as well.