October inflation eases slightly, says UBOS
Godfrey Magoma, senior statistician at UBOS, explained that the slight moderation in prices offers some relief to households after months of steady increases in some commodities during the year.
Godfrey Magoma, senior statistician at UBOS said the slowdown was mainly driven by lower price increases for key consumer goods such as sugar and beef. (File photo)
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Uganda’s annual inflation slowed to 3.4% in October, easing from 4.0% in September, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
Godfrey Magoma, senior statistician at UBOS, explained that the slight moderation in prices offers some relief to households after months of steady increases in some commodities during the year.
He said the slowdown was mainly driven by lower price increases for key consumer goods such as sugar and beef. Sugar prices rose by 8.9% in the year to October, down from 15.0% a month earlier, while beef prices increased by 11.6%, compared to 13.3% in September.
“The prices of beef are coming down because there is now competition. Many consumers are substituting chicken for beef today because of lower prices. That's why you see many stalls along roadsides selling chicken. Beef traders are now forced to reduce their prices,” he said.
Inflation within the services sector also eased, with annual services inflation falling to 4.5% from 5.1% in September.
Accommodation services saw prices rise by 3.2%, down from 4.2%, while the cost of motor vehicle servicing labour dropped sharply to 0.4% from an unusually high 33.3% in September.