Inflation in Uganda has reached 4% for both core and headline measures, driven by increased prices in services and food items. This marks the highest inflation rate since July 2023, when it was 3.9%.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) released consumer price index data for July, revealing that most goods and services saw price hikes. Ubos reported a rise in services inflation to 6.5% from 6.1%. Passenger transport inflation, including taxis and flights, increased to 8.2%. Accommodation services inflation also climbed to 8.2%, up from 7%, while cultural services inflation rose to 8.4% from 5.7% in June.
Food prices have also contributed to higher inflation. Annual inflation for food crops and related items has increased, driven by a significant rise in the cost of Irish potatoes, which surged to 17.2%, and green cabbage, which saw an increase to 32.5% from 14.4% in June. Other contributing factors include a 0.7% rise in secondhand vehicle prices, a 3.4% increase in refined oil prices, and a 7.2% rise in corrugated iron sheet prices.
Conversely, there was a decrease in annual inflation for energy, fuel, and utilities, which dropped to 6.2% from 10.3%, indicating slower price increases in these areas. Additionally, cooking banana prices rose by 3.6% from a previous decrease of 10.4%, while dry beans increased by 5.2%.
Regional variations in inflation rates were also noted. Kampala High Income experienced the highest inflation rate at 5.4%, followed by Fortportal at 4.1%, up from 3.9%. Mbale saw the lowest increase in prices at 1.9%.
Mr. Corti Paul Lakuma, a senior researcher at the Economic Policy Research Centre, commented that the rising inflation is a sign that prices are increasing more rapidly than they did at this time last year.
