RISING FOOD AND ENERGY PRICES PUSHES TANZANIA'S INFLATION RATE HIGHER TO 6.5%

Rising food and energy prices pushed Tanzania's year-on-year inflation rate higher to 6.5 percent in May from 6.3 percent the previous month.

According Ephraim Kwesigabo, Director at state-run National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation rate increased to 8.5 percent in May from 7.8 percent recorded in the previous month, the statistics office said.

"The rise of the annual inflation rate in May was caused by higher price increases in food and non-food items such as fuel. There have been higher increases in the prices of a number of non-food commodity items such as charcoal and cooking gas in the year to May," he said.

The NBS said that month on month inflation tumbled to -0.4 percent from 0.7 percent in April.

"The fact that the monthly inflation rate declined in May compared to April could be an indication that the inflation rate could decline in the coming months," said Kwesigabo.