Mozambique reached, in July, a new record in price increases. The figure is around 11.77 percent. The city of Nampula was the most expensive in the areas of transport and food and non-alcoholic beverages, reveals the National Institute of Statistics.

The data confirm the alert issued by the Bank of Mozambique on July 22, which announced that life would be more expensive in the next 12 months.

Until June of this year, the country's inflationary climate reached double digits, levels considered high of the last four years and nine months, however July's inflation comes in with new records.

Prices in Mozambique rose as much as 11.77 percent, the highest number since September 2017, in the wake of the shock caused by hidden debts.

Cumulatively, from January to July of this year, the country recorded a price increase of 7.10 percent, up from 6.44 percent the previous month.

Behind the successive increases in costs that have been seen since the beginning of this year, globally and nationally, are, according to the Bank of Mozambique, the costs of fuel and food products.

The transport divisions, with about 19.10 percent, and food and non-alcoholic beverages, with 17.24 percent, were, year-on-year, the divisions with the largest price changes.

In the order of price increases, products such as gasoline, wheat bread, tomatoes, diesel, cooking oil, semi-collective transport (urban and suburban) of passengers and complete restaurant meals participated with about 4.96 percentage points positive in the total accumulated variation.

Normally, prices retreat between May and July, due to the harvest period and abundance in the markets, and in the period under review, there was relief in the costs of products, especially cabbage (7.1 percent), coconut (3.8 percent), horse mackerel (0.9 percent) and cabbage (8.0 percent), and contributed almost 0.11 percentage points negative in the total monthly variation.

With regard to the monthly variation per product, the highlight goes to the increase in the prices of gasoline (4.3 percent), diesel (10.9 percent), tomatoes (3.0 percent), bottled butane gas (18.6 percent), wheat bread (1.0 percent), fresh fish (1.3 percent) and fresh cassava (24.2 percent), which contributed to the total monthly variation with about 0.67 percentage points positive.

The monthly variation in the collection centers, the cities of Maputo, Beira and Nampula, which serve as a reference for price variation in the country, registered a price increase, with the city of Nampula standing out with about 0.94 percent, followed by Maputo City with 0.59 percent, and finally the city of Beira with almost 0.25 percent.

About the homologous variation, the city of Nampula led the tendency of increase in the general level of prices with almost 14.03 percent, followed by the city of Beira, with about 11.49 percent and, lastly, the city of Maputo with 10.70 percent. (O Pais)