Surging food and non-alcoholic prices offset plummeting transport charges, lifting Morocco’s CPI inflation to a 14-month high of 1.6% y/y in December from 1.2% y/y the previous month, the statistics office HCP said. In 2014, Morocco’s CPI inflation averaged a marginal 0.4% remaining well in the central bank’s comfort zone.
Morocco’s central bank cut in December its benchmark interest rate by 25bps to 2.5% for the second straight time last year, underscoring that the CPI inflation forecast remains consistent with the medium-term price stability objective.
The central bank, however, expects the CPI inflation to quicken to 1.2% in 2015 and 1.3% by Q1 2016.
On a monthly basis, the CPI grew 0.3% in December compared with zero m/m growth in November.
Food prices (45% of basket) grew 0.9% m/m in December, fuelling the annual growth to 1.6% from 0.1% y/y in November.
Prices of fresh fruits fell 3.8% m/m in December but those of vegetables climbed 8.4% m/m and those of fish items grew 0.7%.
Housing prices (13% of basket), which include rents and utilities, ticked up 0.1% m/m in December, lifting the annual growth to 4.5% from 4.4% in November.
Transport prices fell 2.0% m/m as the government cut fuel costs. The annual growth thus braked to 0.3% in December from 2.5% y/y the month before.
The prices of diesel, fuel oil and gasoline are now being reviewed twice a month depending on the crude oil prices on the international market.
Telecoms costs recorded a zero annual growth, the same as in November.
| Dec-13 (y/y) | Dec-14 (m/m) | Nov-14 (y/y) | Dec-14 (y/y) | |
| CPI | 0,4% | 0,3% | 1,2% | 1,6% |
| Food, non-alc drinks | -1,1% | 0,9% | 0,1% | 1,6% |
| Alcohol, tobacco | 6,5% | 0,1% | 0,6% | 0,7% |
| Clothing, footwear | 2,2% | 0,4% | 1,3% | 1,3% |
| Housing, utilities | 1,4% | 0,1% | 4,4% | 4,5% |
| Furnishings | 0,7% | -0,1% | 0,9% | 0,6% |
| Health | 1,2% | 0,0% | -1,1% | -1,2% |
| Transport | 1,5% | -2,0% | 2,5% | 0,3% |
| Communications | -9,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| Recreation, culture | -0,6% | 0,1% | -1,1% | -0,4% |
| Education | 3,5% | 0,0% | 3,2% | 3,2% |
| Restaurants, hotels | 3,3% | 0,0% | 1,9% | 1,7% |
| Other | 1,9% | 0,0% | 1,0% | 0,4% |
| Source:HCP |
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