The consumer pricing index used to measure the rate of inflation dropped from 17.26 percent in March to 17.24 in the month of April 2017, according to the National Bureau of statistics.
In a report released on Tuesday, the Bureau said that the drop of 0.02 percent points in inflation rate makes it the third consecutive month of the decline in the inflation rate.
The NBS said the decline is further proof that the prices of goods and other items have started to ease.
Part of the report said, “This is the third consecutive month of a decline in the headline CPI rate, exhibiting effects of some easingin already high food and non-food prices, as well as favourable base effects over 2016 prices,” NBS said via its inflation report for April, 2017.
“Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yield the Headline Index.The top items to have recorded the highest year on year increases across all the divisions were Solid Fuels, Bread and Cereals, Meat, Liquid Fuels, Clothing materials, other articles of clothing and clothing accessories, and Fish.”
On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.60 percent in April 2017, 0.12 percent points lower than the rate recorded in March.
On this basis, the highest rise in prices were dominated by food items including coffee, tea and cocoa, potato, yam and tubers, bread and cereals, milk cheese and eggs and meat and fish.