In December 2019, headline inflation increased to 2.2 percent from 2.1 percent in November 2019. According to the latest data from Statistics Botswana, the slight increase in inflation during December 2019 reflects the rise in the rate of annual change in prices for some categories of goods and services, led by ‘Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’ (from 3.9 to 4.4 percent). Other categories contributing to the higher inflation are: Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance (from 2.3 to 2.7 percent); ‘Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages’ (from 2.7 to 3 percent); Communication (from 0.2 to 0.4 percent); Restaurants and Hotels (from 2.7 to 2.9 percent); and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (from 1.4 to 1.5 percent). However, the upward pressure on inflation was partly offset by inflation decreasing with respect to: Recreation and Culture (from 0.1 to -0.2 percent); Clothing and Footwear (from 1.5 to 1.3 percent); Miscellaneous Goods and Services (from 5.5 to 5.3 percent); and Transport (from 1.4 to 1.3 percent). Inflation remained unchanged for Health (0.8 percent) and Education (3.1 percent).
The trimmed mean measure of core inflation and inflation excluding administered prices increased from 1.7 percent to 1.8 percent and 2.4 percent to 2.5 percent, respectively.