In a media statement to APA, INE said the latest figures are based on the consumer price indices of the three largest cities namely Maputo, Nampula and Beira.
“The annual inflation of 3.52 per cent can be regarded as a significant victory in the Bank of Mozambique’s struggle to bring inflation under control. In 2017 inflation was 5.66 per cent, and in 2016 it had reached 25.26 percent”, reads the INE statement emailed to APA on Friday.
The agency added that there were some price rises in the month of December including for butter beans 24.9 percent, dried fish 20.6 percent, tomatoes 12.1 percent, coconuts 6.1 percent, onions 2.6 percent, and wine 9.9 percent.
INE said the prices of other goods remained stationary or fell – the main goods where prices declined were fresh fish 3.9 percent, lemons 24.2 percent and petrol 0.8 percent.
Throughout the year, inflation had remained low.
In not a single month did inflation reach as much as one percent.
The month with the highest inflation was March, when it hit 0.97 percent.
In two months, June and July, inflation was negative, with price falls of 0.12 and 0.18 percent.
The inflation trends were different in the three cities: it is more expensive to live in Maputo than elsewhere in the country.
Inflation in Maputo on 2018 was 4.33 percent.
In Beira, it was 3.76 percent, and in Nampula, it was 1.74 percent.