Malawi September inflation quickens to 9.3 percent on food

Malawi's inflation quickened to 9.3 percent year-on-year in September from 9.1 percent in August, mainly on higher food costs, the National Statistical Office said on Thursday.

Malawi's Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe in August revised the southern African country's year-end inflation rate forecast upward to 8.5 percent from the 6.5 percent seen earlier, citing higher global oil prices.

The NSO said food inflation had gone up by 7.3 percent in September compared to an increase of 6.7 percent during the same period last year.

"Non-food inflation has also risen by 0.2 percentage points on the month before to 11.4 percent," it added.

Food accounts for 58.1 percent of Malawi's consumer price index.

The southern African country's second consecutive surplus harvest of the staple maize grain helped reduce inflation from 15 percent in June 2006 to single digits in early 2007.