Bank of Botswana : Inflation falls to 6.6 percent in August

In August, headline inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), fell to 6.6 percent from 7.3 percent in July. Inflation decreased in several commodity groups, including: food (from 8.0 percent to 7.8 percent); housing water, electricity, gas and other fuels (from 7.4 percent to 6.8 percent); furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance (from 7.4 percent to 7.1 percent); transport (from 11.1 percent to 7.6 percent, where a fuel price increase in August 2011 fell out of the calculation); and miscellaneous goods and services (from 1.5 percent to 1.1 percent). However, this was partially offset by higher inflation for: clothing and footwear (from 6.1 percent to 6.6 percent); recreation and culture (from 5.1 percent to 5.7 percent); and restaurants and hotels (from 6.5 percent to 6.8 percent). Inflation remained unchanged for alcoholic beverages and tobacco (7.1 percent), health (6.4 percent), communication (0.6 percent) and education (6.4 percent).