Ethiopia inflation rises to 8.8 per cent in March

Ethiopia’s inflation rate quickened to 8.8 percent in the year to March from 7.9 percent the previous month, owing to a rise in both food and non-food items, official data showed on Tuesday.

According to a Reuters report, the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) said food prices rose 6.1 percent in March over the 12-month period from 4.7 percent in February, driven by price increases of bread and cereal.

Non-food prices edged up to 11.8 percent in the year to March from 11.4 percent in February, owing largely to price increases of khat, a leafy plant chewed as a stimulant in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

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