Higher food price growth, coupled with rising housing costs, offset falling transport and health charges, lifting Morocco’s CPI inflation to a still moderate 1.7% y/y in April from 1.6% y/y a month earlier, the statistics office HCP said. The reading continues to accommodate the central bank’s monetary easing stance seeking to boost GDP growth. In January-April, the CPI inflation averaged 1.6% y/y.
The central bank expects the CPI inflation to quicken to a well subdued 1.2% in 2015 and 1.3% by Q1 2016. In 2014, the CPI inflation was a marginal 0.4%.
On a monthly basis, the CPI edged up 0.2% in April, slightly picking up from a zero monthly growth in March.
Food prices (45% of basket) grew 0.3% m/m in April, lifting the annual growth to 2.5% from 2.1% y/y in March. The low prior-year base is also boosting food price growth.
Prices of fruits increased 7.4% m/m in April and those of fish rose 2.3%. Prices of fresh vegetables, however, dropped 3.5% m/m in April.
Housing prices (13% of basket), which include rents and utilities, ticked up 0.1% m/m in April while rising 4.9% y/y.
Transport prices shrank 3.1% y/y in April, deepening from a 2.1% annual decline 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.
| Apr-14 (y/y) | Apr-15 (m/m) | March-15 (y/y) | Apr-15 (y/y) | |
| CPI | 0,4% | 0,2% | 1,6% | 1,7% |
| Food, non-alc drinks | -0,9% | 0,3% | 2,1% | 2,5% |
| Alcohol, tobacco | 0,8% | 0,0% | 1,7% | 1,6% |
| Clothing, footwear | 2,5% | -0,1% | 0,4% | 0,5% |
| Housing, utilities | 1,0% | 0,1% | 5,0% | 4,9% |
| Furnishings | 0,8% | 0,1% | 0,3% | 0,4% |
| Health | 1,4% | 0,1% | -1,3% | -1,7% |
| Transport | 3,3% | -0,1% | -2,1% | -3,1% |
| Communications | -9,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| Recreation, culture | -1,0% | 0,1% | -0,2% | -0,1% |
| Education | 3,5% | 0,0% | 3,2% | 3,2% |
| Restaurants, hotels | 2,6% | 0,3% | 1,8% | 2,2% |
| Other | 1,0% | 0,0% | 0,7% | 0,7% |
| Source:HCP |
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