2024-03-27 07:46:14
For the month of February 2024, the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) made public the Harmonized Consumer Price Index (IHPC). In this report, we note an increase in prices in Benin, unlike the other countries of the Union.
S.T.
In February 2024, despite relative control of inflation the previous year, Benin is having difficulty maintaining consumer prices lower than those of other states in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), according to the Harmonized Consumer Price Index (IHPC) published in March 2024. During this month, the index rose to 112.1, compared to 110.5 the previous month, an increase of 1, 4%. On an annual basis, the index increased by 0.2%. This overall increase is mainly attributable to the increase in prices in the following categories: “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” (3.1%), “Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels” (2.5%), “Restaurant and hotel” (0.2%), and “Miscellaneous goods and services” (0.2%). An analysis of the volatility of prices and quantities indicates that the annual increase in prices is largely due to that of energy products (4.7%), while fresh products (-0.2%) and other products that fresh produce and energy (-1.1%) experienced a decline.
Regarding the production sectors, the increase in prices of products in the primary sector (2.8%) and the tertiary sector (1.2%) also contributed to the overall increase in prices. Furthermore, the analysis according to product durability reveals an increase in the prices of semi-durable goods (2.2%) and, to a lesser extent, durable goods (0.7%), while the prices of goods non-durable goods decreased (-1.5%) over the past year. As for consumption functions, the annual increase of 0.2% in the general price level is mainly attributable to the increase in prices in the categories “Transport” (5.0%), “Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels” (4.3%), and “Restaurant and hotel” (1.6%), while the prices of “Food products and non-alcoholic beverages” decreased (-2.8%). More specifically, catering services (1.6%), road passenger transport (8.4%), fuels and lubricants (4.8%) were the main contributors to the price increase, while the drop in prices of food products and non-alcoholic drinks is due to the drop in prices of bread (-8.1%), oils (-21.5%), fresh fish (-8.9%), and tubers and plantains (-13.1%). However, prices of unprocessed cereals recorded an increase of 6.7%. On an annual average, the inflation rate in February 2024 amounts to 2.0%, which represents a decrease of 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous month.
Q. A.
mars 27, 2024
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