Price monster eases in September

The headline annual inflation rate for September 2024 stood at 3.4% compared to 5.4% registered in September 2023. On a monthly basis, the inflation rate witnessed a decline of 0.2% compared to an increase of 0.3% recorded a month ago.

This follows the release of the inflation numbers by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).

The zonal inflation rates for the month of September revealed that Zone 2 (Khomas Region) recorded the highest rate at 4.3%, followed by Zone 3 (//Karas, Erongo, Hardap, Omaheke) which recorded an annual inflation rate of 3.1%; and Zone 1 (Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa and Zambezi) recorded a rate of 2.8%, the NSA observed.

“The analysis of the average retail prices of selected products for September revealed that consumers in Zone 3 paid the highest price for beef stew per kilogram at N$96.71; followed by Zone 2 consumers at N$94.99; while consumers in Zone 1 paid the lowest price of N$90.99,” the NSA said.

“Meanwhile, consumers in Zone 2 paid the highest price for fresh tomatoes per kilogram at N$37.29; followed by consumers in Zone 3 at N$36.21; while consumers in Zone 1 paid the lowest price of N$34.09,” it added.

During September, the core inflation rate stood at 3.5% while the headline inflation rate at 3.4%. Core inflation refers to a measure of inflation that excludes certain volatile elements from the overall inflation calculation, according to the NSA.