Sudan’s inflation rate on track to meet IMF projections

August 11, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan announced that inflation rate dropped to 14.1% in July from 18.3% a month earlier making it likely that the east African nation would meet or even beat projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The 2015 budget has a target inflation rate of 25% while the IMF projected 12.4% by year end. The inflation rate stood at 19.8% in May.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBoS) said that prices of commodities and services rose at varying rates in July with clothing and footwear recording the biggest increase by 3.4% followed by recreation at 3.3% then transport at 1.7% , education at 1.3% and lastly restaurants and hotels at 1.1%

The food and beverages index moved upwards to 519.6 points compared to 515.6 in June.

CBoS said that food and beverages contributed to the rise in the general price level by 2.1 points out of 5.6.

Sudan has been struggling with double-digit inflation since secession of the oil-rich south in 2011 but it has succeeded in bringing it down from a high of 46.8% in July 2014 to 25.6% in November of the same year.

(ST)