Headline inflation increased marginally from 12.2 percent in November 2022 to 12.4 percent in December 2022, remaining above the Bank’s medium-term objective range of 3 – 6 percent, and significantly higher than the 8.7 percent in December 2021. According to Statistics Botswana, the increase in inflation between November and December 2022 is mainly due to broad-based price increase of food items, as well as the rise in vehicle prices as reflected under the ‘Transport’ category for which inflation increased from 28.2 to 29.3 percent. There were also partially offsetting movements in the annual price changes for some categories of goods and services. Annual price changes for the following categories of goods and services also increased: Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (from 16.3 to 16.9 percent); Health (from 3.3 to 3.5 percent); Communication (from 2.4 to 2.6 percent); Clothing and Footwear (from 5.2 to 5.3 percent); and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (from 9.3 to 9.4 percent). However, the upward pressure on inflation was partially offset by inflation falling with respect to: Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’ (from 3.1 to 2.6 percent); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (from 5.1 to 4.7 percent); and Recreation and Culture (from 4 to 3.8 percent). Inflation remained unchanged for: Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance (6.2 percent); Education (1.6 percent); and Restaurants and Hotels (5.8 percent).
Similarly, the 16 percent trimmed mean inflation and inflation excluding administered prices increased from 10.8 percent and 8.3 percent to 11.2 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, in the same period.