April inflation declines to 5.9%

• Decreases in both food and non-food categories bring relief after 7% inflation in March

Headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year (YoY) change in the National Consumer Price Index decreased to 5.9% in April from 7% in March, the Central Bank said in a statement. 

The decline was driven by the monthly decline of prices of the items in the Food category and the statistical effect of the high base that prevailed in April 2019.

Accordingly, Food inflation (YoY) declined to 12.2% in April from 14.1% in March. Meanwhile, Non-Food inflation (YoY) also declined to 1.1% in April from 1.8% in March.

The change in the NCPI measured on an annual average basis increased to 5.1% in April from 4.9% in March.

Monthly change of NCPI recorded at -0.3% in April due to declines observed in prices of items in the Food category, driven by the continued seasonal supply of food crops. Accordingly, within the Food category, prices of vegetables, fruits, big onions, and eggs declined during the month. 

Meanwhile, prices of the items within the Non-Food category remained unchanged in April, partly due to the lower demand for non-essential goods and services during the lockdown period with the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Further, core inflation (YoY) remained unchanged at 3.2% in April while annual average core inflation decreased to 5% in April from 5.2% in March.