South Sudan inflation still a record 74% high

By Julius N. Uma

July 24, 2012 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s annual inflation increased by 74%
from June 2011 to June this year, while the country witnessed an
upsurge in its consumer price index by 1.7% from May 2012 to June, the
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in its latest report.

The rise in inflation, officials told Sudan Tribune, reflects the turbulent economic times in the new nation, worsened by the unexpected shut-down of oil production in January this year, following a dispute with neighbouring Sudan.

In May, the country’s inflation jumped to nearly 80%; with the current
figure is regarded as a slight improvement in the situation, which has
been marred by high fuel prices, scarcity of hard currency and high
food prices.

“The South Sudan Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 1.7% from May 2012 to June 2012. The CPI increased in Juba by 2.9%, and decreased by 8.3% in Wau [Western Bahr el Ghazal state] and 1.6% in Malakal [Upper Nile],” partly reads the NBS report.

“The South Sudan CPI increased by 74.1% from June 2011 to June 2012.
The CPI increased by 63.7% in Juba, 147.7% in Malakal and 63.3% in Wau
from June 2011 to June 2012”, it adds.

However, in the report, food and non-alcoholic beverages reportedly
decreased in price by 0.2% from May 2012 to June 2012, while alcoholic
beverages and tobacco increased by 15.3% and transport by 18.0% over
the same time period.

David Chan Thiang, director of economic statistics at the National Bureau of Statistics mainly attributes the fall in the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages to the apparent decreases in prices of fruits, bread and cereal as well as vegetables.

“The fall in price of food and non-alcoholic beverages was mainly
driven by decreases in fruit by 11.0%, bread and cereals by 5.9% and
vegetables by 15.7%,” he said.

The statistical body has now included clothing and foot wear, health,
communication and education, which are usually prone to annual rate
changes, among groups measure in the price index.

CPI is an index which tracks the price of a representative basket of
goods and services consumed by households in South Sudan, while the
monthly consumer price inflation is the percentage change in the CPI
over the course of one month.

(ST)