The National Statistics Institute (INE) announced that the rate of inflation in Mozambique in April, as measured by the consumer price indices for the three largest cities (Maputo, Nampula and Beira), was negative, at minus 0.98 percent, AllAfrica reported.
Inflation had thus turned into deflation. Prices rose in the first three months of the year - by 1.84 percent in January, by 1.56 percent in February and by just 0.06 percent in March.
The price falls in April pushed the combined inflation rate for the first four months of the year down to 2.47 percent. This is still higher than the inflation rate for all of 2014, which was 1.93 percent.
Nonetheless, at this rate it is likely that the government will meet its target for an average 12 monthly inflation rate in 2015 of no more than 5.1 percent. The usual pattern for Mozambican prices is that they rise in the first quarter of the year, and then fall as the harvest comes in, before rising again in the two or three months before the festive season.
Most of the price falls in April were for foodstuffs - the price of tomatoes fell by 11.5 percent, of coconuts by 18.9 per cent, of cabbage by 9.2 percent, of dried fish by 5.1 percent, of lettuce by 6.8 percent, of onions by three percent, and of maize flour by 0.7 percent.
The category of food and non-alcoholic drinks in the consumer price index basket fell by 1.17 percent. They were very slight price increases in the categories of clothing and footwear, furniture, transport and leisure.
