Namibia Consumer Price Index · Namibia Consumer Price Inde: December, 2015 9 Transport The annual inflation rate for the group “Transport” stood at -0.3 percent in December 2015,

Namibia Consumer Price Index: December, 2015 1

Namibia Consumer Price Index December, 2015

Namibia Statistics Agency

Namibia Consumer Price Index: December, 20152

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Our MissionIn a coordinated manner produce and

disseminate relevant, quality and timely statistics that are fit-for-purpose in

accordance with international standards and best practice.

Our VisionTo be a high performance institution in

statistics delivery

Our Shared ValuesExcellent Performance

IntegrityService focusTransparency

AccuracyPartnership


Summary The annual inflation rate for December 2015 increased by 0.4 percentage points to 3.7 percent, from 3.3 percent

compared to the previous month. The increases resulted mainly from increases in inflation in the groups of

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco (7.6 percent), Hotels, cafes and restaurants (6.9 percent), Recreation and

culture (3.9 percent), Furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (2.9 percent)

and Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (2.7 percent).

The general price level in Namibia remained unchanged on a monthly basis, at 0.2 percent as compared to a

month earlier.

Sikongo HaihamboActing Statistician - General

Annual inflation Increases

Annual inflation for December 2015 increased from 3.3 percent to 3.7 percent on an annual basis but remained unchanged at 0.2 per cent on monthly basis.


Overall InflationThe year 2015 recorded a monthly average and an annual average inflation of 0.3 and 3.4 percent. Corresponding

rates registered a year earlier were estimated at 0.4 and 5.4 percent respectively. The annual and monthly

inflation rates for December 2015 stood at 3.7 and 0.2 percent compared to 4.6 and -0.2 percent recorded in

December 2014.

Chart 1: NCPI; Monthly and annual percentage changes (Dec 2012 = 100)


Main drivers of InflationThe main drivers of the annual inflation rate for the month of December 2015 were mainly Alcoholic beverages

and Tobacco (7.6 percent), Hotel, cafes and restaurants (6.9 percent) and Health (5.9 percent).

Chart 2: NCPI; December 2015 annual percentage changes by main groups (Dec 2012 = 100)


BOX 1: NCPI Basket WeightingInflation is calculated based on a basket of goods and services, containing a representative sample of the goods

and or services commonly consumed in a country, and weighted in accordance with the relative percentage

of expenditure allotted to each of the said goods at household level. The price of these goods and services are

then tracked over time, to illustrate the change in the cost of living over time. As spending patterns change,

new products and services are added to the basket, and the basket reweighted so as to better capture the

current spending patterns of the consumer at the current point in time.

As such, the inflation basket is generally reconstituted every five years. In Namibia, the basket was last rebased

in 2013, using household expenditure data collected in the 2009/10 Household Income and Expenditure

Survey. The basket now contains over 350 items, grouped into 12 categories and 55 sub-categories, for which

prices are collected on a monthly basis from more than 900 retail outlets.

Namibian inflation however, is largely determined by three categories of the overall NCPI basket, namely: (i)

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, (ii) Food and non-alcoholic beverages and (iii) Transport, which

cumulatively make up just under 60 percent of the total inflation basket. Additionally, following the rebasing of

the NCPI basket in 2013, “Alcoholic beverages and tobacco” make up an additional 12.6 percent of the basket,

meaning that the four largest categories represent well over 70 percent of the total basket. As such, a large

increase in inflation in these categories has a greater impact on the overall inflation than do increases in the

lower weighted categories. Thus, it is rare to see major increases in overall inflation attributed to the lower

weighted categories, despite the fact that these categories may have seen relatively high inflation in their own

right.

Weights (%)28.3616.4514.2812.595.475.393.813.653.553.052.011.39

Recreation and CultureClothing and FootwearHealthHotels, Cafés and Restaurants

CategoryHousing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other FuelsFood and Non- Alcoholic BeveragesTransportAlcoholic Beverages and TobaccoFurnishings, Household Equipment….Miscellaneous Goods and ServicesCommunicationEducation


Major Groups Food and non-alcoholic beverages

The food and non-alcoholic beverages category is usually a key driver of inflation in Namibia due to the fact

that it tends to be fairly volatile, usually above average inflation. The annual inflation for December 2015 for

this category stood at 5.9 percent, which was a decline from the previous period. The decrease in food prices

were recorded in most of the sub-groups except fish, oils and fats, vegetables including potatoes and other tubers and coffee, tea and cocoa where increases were recorded.

Chart 3: NCPI; Annual inflation for selected food sub-categories (Dec 2012 = 100)


Alcoholic beverages and tobacco

The Alcoholic beverages and tobacco component recorded the highest annual inflation of 7.6 percent in

December 2015 showing an increase of 0.5 percentage points when compared to 7.1 percent recorded during

the same period a year earlier. The upward movement of inflation in this category during this period, was

due to the upward movements in the prices of Alcoholic beverages component rising from 5.9 percent in the

preceding month to 7.7 percent.

The monthly inflation for this group stood at 0.9 percent during the month under review as compared to the

0.1 percent recorded in November 2015.

Chart 4: NCPI; Annual inflation for Alcohol beverages and tobacco (Dec 2012 = 100)


Transport

The annual inflation rate for the group “Transport” stood at -0.3 percent in December 2015, representing an

increase of 1.3 percentage points over the month of November 2015 which recorded a rate of -1.6 per cent.

This increase resulted from increases in the level of prices of goods and services in the category of “Operation of personal transport equipment”.

Chart 5: NCPI; Annual inflation for Transport (Dec 2012 = 100)


Minor GroupsFor the minor groups, high annual inflation rates were observed in the groups of “Hotels, cafés and restaurants” (6.9 percent); “Health” (5.9 percent), “Miscellaneous goods and services” (5.4 percent), while “Education”(4.3

percent) and Recreation and culture” (3.9 percent). “Communication” and “Clothing and footwear” groups

registered the lowest annual inflation rates of 1.1 and 0.2 percent respectively.

Chart 6: NCPI; Annual inflation for Minor groups (Dec 2012 = 100)


BOX 2: CHART OF THE MONTHRecreation and culture

The annual inflation rate for the group “Recreation and culture” increased to 3.9 percent from 3.8 percent

recorded in the previous month. For the month of December 2015, this increase originated from the increasing

level of Other recreational items prices, which increased from 4.3 to 4.9 percent.

Chart 7: NCPI; Annual inflation for Recreation and culture (Dec 2012 = 100)


Goods and Services InflationIn December 2015 the Index for Goods and Services stood at 117.1 and 109.6 respectively as compared to

the corresponding indices of 112.4 and 106.3 recorded during the same period last year. During the month of

December 2015, the monthly and annual inflation rates for Goods were 0.4 and 4.1 percent while those for

Services stood at 0.0 and 3.1 percent. Corresponding rates recorded during the same period in the previous

year stood at -0.3 and 5.3 percent and 0.0 and 3.7 percent respectively.

Chart 9: NCPI; Goods and Services monthly and annual inflation rates (Dec 2012 = 100)


Table 1: NCPI: All-Items Index, monthly and annual percentage changes (Dec 2012 =100)

Period Index m-o-m y-o-y

Jan-13 100.9 0.9 6.2

Feb-13 101.4 0.4 5.8

Mar-13 101.9 0.6 5.9

Apr-13 102.3 0.3 5.9

May-13 102.4 0.1 5.8

Jun-13 102.7 0.2 6.2

Jul-13 103.4 0.7 5.9

Aug-13 103.8 0.4 6.0

Sep-13 104.1 0.3 5.4

Oct-13 104.5 0.4 4.9

Nov-13 104.7 0.2 4.4

Dec-13 104.9 0.1 4.9

An. Av 103.1 0.4 5.6

Jan-14 105.9 0.9 4.9

Feb-14 106.6 0.7 5.2

Mar-14 107.3 0.6 5.2

Apr-14 108.3 1.0 5.9

May-14 108.6 0.3 6.1

Jun-14 108.9 0.3 6.1

Jul-14 109.1 0.2 5.6

Aug-14 109.4 0.3 5.4

Sep-14 109.6 0.2 5.3

Oct-14 109.7 0.1 5.0

Nov-14 109.9 0.2 5.0

Dec-14 109.8 -0.2 4.6

An. Av 108.6 0.4 5.4

Jan-15 110.6 0.8 4.5

Feb-15 110.4 -0.2 3.6

Mar-15 110.9 0.4 3.4

Apr-15 111.5 0.5 2.9

May-15 111.9 0.4 3.0

Jun-15 112.3 0.3 3.0

Jul-15 112.7 0.4 3.3

Aug-15 113.1 0.3 3.4

Sep-15 113.2 0.1 3.3

Oct-15 113.4 0.2 3.4

Nov-15 113.6 0.2 3.3

Dec-15 113.8 0.2 3.7

An. Av 112.3 0.3 3.4


Table 2: NCPI for December 2015 by main groups and sub-groups (Dec.2012=100)

WeightsCPI Inflation Rate

Dec-14 Nov-15 Dec-15 m-o-m y-o-y0.0 ALL ITEMS 100.00 109.8 113.6 113.8 0.2 3.7 GOODS 57.7 112.4 116.7 117.1 0.4 4.1 SERVICES 42.3 106.3 109.5 109.5 0.0 3.1 01 FOOD AND NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES 16.45 113.5 120.4 120.2 -0.1 5.9 Food 14.78 114.2 121.3 121.1 -0.1 6.1

Bread and cereals 4.84 110.1 118.5 117.5 -0.8 6.7Meat 3.53 119.3 124.9 123.9 -0.8 3.9Fish 0.81 106.9 110.1 111.8 1.5 4.5Milk, cheese and eggs 1.17 123.8 126.4 126.9 0.4 2.5Oils and fats 0.78 106.9 114.3 117.4 2.7 9.8Fruit 0.33 121.2 127.6 129.0 1.1 6.4Vegetables including potatoes and other tubers 1.23 117.7 127.5 128.6 0.8 9.2Sugar, jam, honey, syrups, chocolate and confectionery 1.44 111.8 122.5 122.1 -0.3 9.2Food products n.e.c. 0.65 112.1 117.8 117.9 0.1 5.2

Non-alcoholic beverages 1.66 107.9 112.3 112.2 -0.1 4.0 Coffee, tea and cocoa 0.31 114.9 119.7 121.3 1.3 5.6 Mineral waters, soft drinks and juices 1.35 106.3 110.6 110.2 -0.4 3.6 02 ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND TOBACCO 12.59 116.1 123.8 124.9 0.9 7.6 Alcoholic beverages 9.99 116.7 124.3 125.8 1.1 7.7 Tobacco 2.61 113.5 121.8 121.4 -0.3 7.0 03 CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR 3.05 107.4 106.4 107.6 1.1 0.2 Clothing 2.04 107.9 108.0 108.9 0.8 0.9

Clothing materials 0.07 112.0 114.8 115.3 0.4 3.0Ready-made clothing 1.93 107.7 107.7 108.6 0.8 0.8

Men’s clothing 0.53 112.9 112.8 114.3 1.4 1.2

Women’s clothing 0.58 102.5 101.8 101.9 0.2 -0.5

Children's clothing 0.66 108.7 109.5 110.6 1.0 1.7Boys’ clothing 0.19 111.1 112.1 113.8 1.4 2.4Girls’ clothing 0.26 108.0 110.3 111.3 0.9 3.1Infants’ clothing 0.09 104.8 99.5 99.5 0.0 -5.1

Other articles of clothing and clothing accessories 0.04 109.6 112.9 114.3 1.2 4.3 Dry cleaning, repair and hire of clothing 0.00 107.1 108.1 108.1 0.1 1.0 Footwear 1.01 106.2 103.0 104.9 1.8 -1.2 Adult footwear 0.80 104.5 100.6 103.5 2.8 -1.0 Children’s footwear 0.20 113.0 112.4 110.7 -1.5 -2.0 Repair of footwear 0.01 111.5 111.3 107.8 -3.1 -3.3 04 HOUSING, WATER, ELECTRICITY, GAS AND OTHER FUELS 28.36 106.6 109.1 109.4 0.3 2.7 Rental payments for dwelling (both owners and renters) 23.28 103.7 105.3 105.3 0.0 1.5 Regular maintenance and repair of dwelling 0.19 109.8 119.0 118.6 -0.3 8.0 Water supply, sewerage service and refuse collection 1.03 123.9 137.0 137.0 0.0 10.5 Electricity gas and other fuels 3.86 119.1 124.3 126.6 1.8 6.2


Table 2: NCPI for December 2015 by main groups and sub-groups (Dec.2012=100)

WeightsCPI Inflation Rate

Dec-14 Nov-15 Dec-15 m-o-m y-o-y 05 FURNISHINGS, HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT AND ROUTINE

MAINTENANCE OF THE HOUSE5.47 109.3 112.1 112.5 0.3 2.9

Furniture, furnishings, decorations, carpets, floor coverings, incl. repairs

1.78 105.2 103.0 103.2 0.2 -1.9

Furniture and furnishings 1.69 104.7 102.2 102.3 0.1 -2.3 Carpets and other floorcoverings 0.07 111.3 112.7 115.2 2.2 3.5 Repair of furnishings and floor coverings 0.02 122.3 137.3 137.3 0.0 12.2 Household textiles 0.73 116.8 116.1 117.4 1.1 0.5 Heating and cooking appliances, refrigerators, washing

machines and similar major household appliances, etc0.92 109.9 117.8 117.7 -0.1 7.1

Glassware, tableware and household utensils 0.22 112.5 123.7 125.0 1.1 11.1 Tools and equipment for house and garden 0.43 107.9 112.4 112.0 -0.4 3.7 Goods and services for routine household

maintenance1.36 110.1 115.9 116.4 0.4 5.7

06 HEALTH 2.01 105.5 111.6 111.8 0.1 5.9 Medical products, appliances and equipment 0.84 103.9 110.2 110.5 0.3 6.3 Outpatient Services, medical, dental and paramedical 0.98 108.0 115.1 115.1 0.0 6.6 Hospital services 0.19 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 07 TRANSPORT 14.28 110.0 109.7 109.7 0.0 -0.3 Purchase of vehicles 2.88 116.0 123.1 122.2 -0.7 5.4 Operation of personal transport equipment 8.96 107.1 104.2 104.5 0.2 -2.4 Public transportation services 2.44 114.1 114.2 114.2 0.0 0.1 08 COMMUNICATIONS 3.81 100.1 101.2 101.2 0.0 1.1 09 RECREATION AND CULTURE 3.55 110.6 114.7 114.9 0.1 3.9 Audio-visual, photographic and data processing equip.

incl. repairs1.16 107.7 107.9 107.9 0.0 0.2

Other major durables for recreation and culture 0.08 115.3 122.6 122.6 0.0 6.3 Other recreational items and equipment; flowers,

gardens and pets 0.46 110.4 115.6 115.7 0.1 4.9

Recreation and cultural services 0.85 111.7 117.3 117.7 0.3 5.3 Newspapers, books and stationery 0.89 109.5 113.3 113.1 -0.2 3.3 Package holidays 0.11 138.5 168.6 171.4 1.7 23.8 10 EDUCATION 3.65 112.4 117.3 117.3 0.0 4.3 Pre-primary education (ages 2 to 6 years) 0.23 122.2 130.4 130.4 0.0 6.7 Primary (private) and Secondary education (ages 7 to

17 years) 1.44 109.7 113.0 113.0 0.0 3.0

Tertiary education 1.98 113.3 118.8 118.8 0.0 4.8

11 HOTELS, CAFES AND RESTAURANTS 1.39 110.2 119.6 117.8 -1.5 6.9 Catering 0.74 110.6 118.8 119.1 0.3 7.7 Accommodation services 0.65 109.6 120.7 116.3 -3.6 6.1 12 MISCELLANEOUS GOODS AND SERVICES 5.39 107.1 112.9 112.9 0.0 5.4 Personal care 1.41 108.6 113.3 112.9 -0.3 4.0 Personal effects n.e.c. 1.03 112.9 115.7 116.0 0.2 2.7 Insurance 0.74 105.4 108.8 108.8 0.0 3.3 Financial services n.e.c. 0.94 103.5 113.9 113.9 0.0 10.0 Other services n.e.c. 1.26 104.5 111.8 111.9 0.1 7.2


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Documents

Namibia Consumer Price Index · Namibia Consumer Price Inde: December, 2015 9 Transport The annual inflation rate for the group “Transport” stood at -0.3 percent in December 2015,