According to Statistics Botswana, headline inflation declined from 10 percent in March to 9.6 percent in April 2022, remaining above the Bank’s medium-term objective range of 3 – 6 percent, and substantially higher than the 5.6 percent in April 2021.
The decline in inflation between March and April 2022 mainly reflects the base effects associated with the increase in value added tax and administered prices in the corresponding period last year. Meanwhile, there were partially offsetting movements in the annual price change for other categories of goods and services. Inflation fell with respect to: Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (from 9.3 to 5.3 percent); Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages (from 6.9 to 6.1 percent); Communication (from 1.4 to 0.7 percent); Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance (from 5 to 4.4 percent); Clothing and Footwear (from 4 to 3.5 percent); Health (from 2.6 to 2.2 percent); Restaurants and Hotels (from 4.6 to 4.2 percent); Transport (from 23.8 to 23.6 percent); Miscellaneous Goods and Services (from 8.1 to 7.9 percent); and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (from 8 to 7.9 percent). The downward pressure on inflation was partly offset by inflation increasing with respect to: Recreation and Culture (from 3.9 to 4.2 percent); and Education (from 2.4 to 2.5 percent).
Similarly, the 16 percent trimmed mean inflation and inflation excluding administered prices decreased from 8.6 percent and 6.8 percent to 8.1 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, in the same period.