Inflation rises to 13-mth high

Data shared on Wednesday by Statistics Botswana indicates that inflation rose to 3.7 percent in September, from 1.4 percent in August, confirming expectations by the Bank of Botswana and various other economic commentators.

The major driver of higher inflation was fuel, whose pump prices were increased by an average of P1.60 in September due to the weakening of the pula following the July exchange rate framework changes. Food prices continued ticking up in June, reflecting the economy-wide mark-ups effected by producers and retailers since the central bank weakened the pula in July.