According to Statistics Botswana, headline inflation declined from 8.8 percent in August to 8.4 percent in September 2021, remaining above the upper bound of the Bank’s medium-term objective range of 3 - 6 percent, and significantly higher than the 1.8 percent in September 2020. The decline in inflation between August and September 2021 mainly reflects base effects associated with the increase in public transport fares, as indicated under ‘Transport’ (20.6 to 17.5 percent) in the corresponding period last year. Meanwhile, in the same period, the annual price changes for most categories of goods and services increased marginally, while for few, the annual price movements were unchanged. The downward pressure on inflation was partly offset by inflation increasing with respect to: Education (from 1.8 to 2.8 percent); Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’ (from 8.2 to 9 percent); Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance (from 4.3 to 5 percent); Miscellaneous Goods and Services (from 7 to 7.3 percent); Clothing and Footwear (from 3.6 to 3.7 percent); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (from 8.2 to 8.3 percent); Health (from 2.7 to 2.8 percent); and Restaurants and Hotels (from 3.7 to 3.8 percent). Inflation remained unchanged for: Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages (6.4 percent); Recreation and Culture (4.3 percent); and Communication (1.5 percent).
The 16 percent trimmed mean inflation decreased from 8.3 percent to 8 percent, while inflation excluding administered prices increased from 6.8 percent to 7.1 percent in the same period.