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Zambia’s annual inflation rate held steady at 6.5 percent in July, unchanged from June, as easing food price pressures were offset by higher non-food inflation, while the country posted a K4.2 billion trade surplus in June, official data showed on Thursday.
The Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) said annual food inflation slowed to 6.4 percent in July from 6.7 percent in June, reflecting lower price increases for cereals, fresh milk, sugar, cooking oil and eggs.
Non-food inflation, however, accelerated to 6.7 percent from 6.0 percent , driven by higher prices of furniture and household furnishings, including coffee tables, wardrobes and dining suites, as well as paraffin, charcoal and motor vehicles.
“This outturn was mainly attributed to price movements in non-food items such as furniture and furnishings, paraffin, charcoal and the purchase of motor vehicles,” Zambia’s Statistician General Sheila Mudenda said.
Among the provinces, annual inflation increased in Central, Copperbelt, Lusaka, North-Western and Western provinces. Lusaka recorded the highest annual inflation at 8.7 percent, up from 8.4 percent in June.
Inflation declined in Luapula, Northern and Southern provinces, while Eastern Province remained unchanged at 5.0 percent.
Read More: Zambia’s April inflation slows to 6.8% as food prices ease; trade surplus narrows
Separately, ZamStats said Zambia recorded a trade surplus of K4.2 billion in June, down from K7.0 billion in May, as exports declined and imports rose.
Exports, mainly comprising domestically produced goods, fell 1.6% to K29.6 billion from K30.1 billion in May.
“This was mainly on account of decreases in export earnings from raw materials by 10.4 percent,intermediate goods by 0.3 percent and capital goods by 17.3 percent ,” Mudenda said.
Imports increased 10.2 percent to K25.4 billion from K23.1 billion in May, driven by a 57.1 percent rise in consumer goods imports, a 19.5 percent increase in raw materials and a 1.4 percent increase in intermediate goods imports.
Despite the narrower surplus, Zambia has continued to record positive trade balances, supported largely by exports from its mining sector.
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