Inflation rose to 20.8% in September from 20.5% in August. This marked the highest print since September 2005 and was driven by greater price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity and gas, and clothing and footwear. Furthermore, continued currency weakening also pushed up inflation through greater import costs.
Meanwhile, the trend pointed up as annual average inflation rose to 17.4% in September from 17.1% in August. Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce, increased to 17.6% in September from 17.2% in August.
Lastly, consumer prices rose 1.36% month on month in September, down from 1.77% in August.
FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect inflation to average 16.4% in 2023, which is up 0.5 percentage points from last month’s forecast. In 2024, inflation is seen averaging 12.8%.
