Drop in the inflation rate between July and August in Benin

2023-10-03 08:08:36

The Harmonized Consumer Price Index (IHPC) within the UEMOA provides information on data at the level of each State as of August 2023. This shows a drop in the inflation rate in Benin compared to July 2023 but an increase year-on-year.
Falco VIGNON
Month-on-month, the inflation rate in Benin is falling. This, between July and August 2023. “In Benin, in August 2023, the level of the Harmonized Consumer Price Index stood at 108.2, a drop of 2.8% compared to its level. of July 2023”, we read in the document which noted a year-on-year increase. According to the IHPC, a drop in the general level of prices is observed in certain WAEMU countries, notably in Benin (-2.8%), Togo (-2.2%), Guinea-Bissau (- 0.6%), in Burkina (-0.5%) and Ivory Coast (-0.4%). But year-on-year, between July and August 2023, this rate is increasing. “Compared to August 2022, the index is up 2.1%,” reports UEMOA. This increase in the index is the consequence of the increase in prices of goods in the “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” function (-7.9%). Nevertheless, a moderate drop in the prices of the functions “Housing, water, gas, electricity and other fuels” (-0.2%) and “Articles of clothing and shoes” (-0.1%) is observed, while an increase of 1.6% in the price level of the “Transport” function was recorded. When we examine the annual variation in prices according to their volatility, we see that the largest increase concerns energy, with an increase of 17.9%. Regarding underlying inflation, it stood at 0.8% in August 2023. As for the origin of the products, the increase in the overall price level comes both from increase in the prices of local products (1.6%) and those of imported products (2.9%). In the goods and services production sectors, the increase in prices is due to an increase of 2.2% in the prices of products in the secondary sector and of 3.4% in those of services. When it comes to product sustainability, prices are also increasing for non-durable (0.9%), semi-durable (1.7%) and durable (1.2%) goods. During the same period, the 2.1% increase in the general price level year-on-year is mainly attributable to the functions “Transport” (+17.3%) and “Housing, water, gas, electricity and other fuels” (+6.9%). A detailed analysis of the items reveals that it is solid fuels (24.4%) which contribute the most to the increase in prices in the “Housing, water, gas, electricity and other fuels” function. Regarding the “Transport” function, the increase is mainly due to the increase in the prices of fuels and lubricants (22.3%) and road passenger transport services (21.4%). In WAEMU, the annual average inflation rate in August 2023 stood at 5.5%. On an annual average, the inflation rate in the Union fell by 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous month. This downward trend was observed by member states with the exception of Benin and Niger where the inflation rate increased by 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points respectively compared to the previous month, indicated the document. In monthly variation, an increase of 0.1% is observed and the level of the harmonized consumer price index (IHPC) stood at 122.7 in August 2023.

QA October 3,