Uganda Bureau of Statistics
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Location: Plot 9, Colville Street, Kampala, Uganda Postal Address: P.O. Box 7186, Kampala, Uganda 43,626 visitors and 87,252 pages viewed since 9 July 2013 (incl. Qmag) - source: Google Analytic see Media for the source  UBOS: Inflation hits 6.8% in April Core inflation, a component of overall headline inflation which strips out food, fuel, metered water and electricity prices hit 4.9% from 4.7% after most parts of Uganda experienced a prolonged drought from 2016, affecting food prices in most markets.Alpha Capital Partners’ Stephen Kaboyo noted that there is a general underlying trend of building cost pressures that are feeding through from the harsh weather conditions in the early part of the year.“In my view, this supply shock is the main factor behind the upward trend. On the positive side the shilling stability seen in the last couple of months seems to be moderating the effects, however depreciation pressures are lately showing up again considering the currency movements of this week,” Kaboyo said.Read more ▪ UBOS: Prices of foodstuffs soar UBOS principal statistician, Vincent Nsubuga, attributed the rise to increase in prices of food crops to 18.8% from 14.5% recorded especially prices of vegetables. Economic analyst Simon Peter Nsereko, noted that rise in inflation is not a surprise due to the long dry spell. "As Uganda still depends on rudimentary methods of farming and no irrigation, it means whenever it is a dry season, inflation increases" Nsereko said. He added that Uganda's inflation is not worrying because it is within the medium term target. "As long as inflation is less than 10%, it is within the target" he added. Nsereko explained that price increase is worrying because it affects low income earners since they cannot afford the food. He explained that to the consumers, it means that he has to change their consumption habits and basket of goods because their income can purchase less commodities. "As weather patterns change, there are higher chances that the response will be good although we do not expect to see an immediate response" Nsereko added. Read more ▪ UBOS: Construction Inputs’ Prices Soar The prices of inputs for the whole construction sector which includes material prices, wage rates and equipment hire rates have gone up by 2.2 percent.Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Executive Director Paul Mungyereza attributed this to an increase of 1.0 percent in input prices of non-residential buildings.He further cited an increase of 15.5 percent in prices for inputs of residential buildings.The inputs in the construction sector that make a greater proportion of the construction costs include timber, PVC/HDE Pipes, water tanks, burnt clay bricks, tiles, cement, concrete articles, steel bars, roofing sheets and electric materials.Others are aggregate, lime, diesel, bitumen, labour and equipment hire.Economists say high prices of construction materials have multiplier effects on the industry as they lead to fluctuation in construction costs and the eventual abandonment of projects.Other implications are completion at the expense of other projects, delay in progress of project works, loss of employment, other valuable projects not being commissioned and poor workmanship as a result of the use of low-quality local materials.Mungyereza spoke at a press briefing in Kampala while unveiling the Producer Price Manufacturing Index and Construction Sector Indices.Read more ▪ UBOS: Expensive services hike core inflation to 7 per cent High cost of services in the country has driven Uganda’s core inflation to 7 per cent up from 6.4 per cent. This implied the general public had to make adjustments to their budgets to access the goods and services they needed. Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) said the increase in annual core inflation is due to a rise in annual services inflation which rose to 6.5 per cent, compared to 5.9 per cent increase that was recorded.Releasing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at Statistics House, the director macroeconomic Ubos, Dr Chris N. Mukiza, said the rise in Uganda’s annual core inflation was also caused by increases in costs of other goods inflation which rose by 7.4 per cent during the same period. “The cost of services has shot up, which has contributed to the rise in the annual core inflation,” Mr Mukiza said.Read more ▪ Price of manufactured goods increase by 6.5% - Ubos survey Prices of manufactured goods in the country went up by 6.5 per cent due to increased cost of production.Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) said there was a general increase in prices for all the industry groups. Presenting the findings on the Producer Price Index (PPI) for manufactured goods on Wednesday in Kampala, principal statistician, business and industry statistics William Anguyo, said processed food increased by 9.7 per cent.“This was driven by a rise in prices of sugar which went up by 20.9 per cent as result of increased cost of production attributed to cost of raw materials, and processed coffee increased by 6.8 per cent due to the rise in prices on international market.”Mr Anguyo added: “Processed tea went up by 8.7 per cent mainly due to a price rise in international market, and processed fish went up by 16 per cent.” Read more ▪ UBOS: Inflation blamed on high school fees, food costs Higher expenses on education and exorbitant charges on food and services at restaurants and hotels are responsible for increasing inflation, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). Dr Chris Mukiza, the UBOS director for Macro-statistics, said education inflation is caused by high tuition levied by administrators while meals at restaurants are overpriced.“The rise in annual core inflation was due to the rise in the annual services inflation to 6.2 per cent compared to 5.2 per cent recorded,” he said while releasing the Consumer Price Index (CPI).CPI is the measure of change in the average annual price of selected consumer basket of goods and services. Read more ▪ UBOS: Weak Shilling, power tariffs push average inflation to 5.2% The depreciation of the Uganda Shilling against the US dollar and increment in power tariffs have seen the country register increase in its annual average inflation rate of 5.2 per cent compared to 4.3 recorded. Uganda’s annual average inflation rate closed at 5.5 per cent attributed to high inflationary pressure. Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) said a weak Shilling and high power tariffs implied that the general public was faced with the problem of mobilising more money to be able to pay for goods and services for their daily livelihood. Ubos director macroeconomic statistics Chris N. Mukiza, while releasing the Consumer Price Index (CPI), at Statistics House in Kampala, said: “The key factors that drove inflation were depreciation of the Shilling against the US dollar and the annual energy, fuel and utilities (EFU) due to increase in electricity tariff,” he said. Read more ▪ UBOS: High food prices, power tariff push up inflation to 8.8 % Reduced supply of food crops in the market coupled with high electricity tariff have pushed Uganda’s annual headline inflation rate to 8.8 per cent compared to 7.2 per cent recorded.This is the highest inflation rate Uganda has recorded when the country’s annual headline inflation rate stood at 8.4 per cent. The rise in the country’s inflation levels implies the general public is facing the problem of high food prices and high energy charges amid stagnated income. Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) said the main drivers of the annual headline inflation during this period were foodcrop inflation which rose to 20.2 per cent compared to 10.2 per cent increase recorded. Read more ▪ UBOS: High food prices, power tariff push up inflation to 8.8 % Reduced supply of food crops in the market coupled with high electricity tariff have pushed Uganda’s annual headline inflation rate to 8.8 per cent compared to 7.2 per cent recorded.This is the highest inflation rate Uganda has recorded since the country’s headline inflation rate stood at 8.4 per cent. The rise in the country’s inflation levels implies the general public is facing the problem of high food prices and high energy charges amid stagnated income.Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) said the main drivers of the annual headline inflation during this period were foodcrop inflation which rose to 20.2 per cent compared to 10.2 per cent increase recorded. Ubos explains that the other driver responsible for the inflation increase is the annual energy fuel and utility inflation that accelerated to 11.9 per cent compared to 3.8 per cent , on account of the increase in electricity tariffs. Read more ▪ UBOS: High import costs push price index up by 10% High cost of imported raw materials, coupled with expensive loans, have significantly pushed up the prices of manufactured goods in the country. Accordingly, Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) said the Producer Price Index (PPI) for manufactured goods increased by 10.5 per compared to 8.1 per cent.This, the statistics body said, signifies the fact that the general public has had to pay more on the same goods than they were paying.PPI for manufacturing is a measure of change in the prices of goods either as they leave their place of production or as they enter the production process.In an interview with Daily Monitor after the release of PPI, Uganda Manufacturers Association executive director Mustapha Kigozi Sebaggala also blamed the high interest charged on loans. Read more ▪ UBOS: Commodity prices to shoot up as inflation rises to 7.2 percent The rise in food prices and the continuous depreciation of the shilling has pushed up the rate of annual headline inflation rate from 4.8 per cent to 7.2 per cent signifying that the cost of living in the country is going up.This is the highest inflation recorded in Uganda when it stood at 8.1 per cent.The rising inflation rate means that the general public will now need more money in their pockets to meet their daily expenditure on goods and services.Uganda Bureau of Statistics said that the annual food crop inflation increased to 10.2 per cent for compared to 1.8 per cent that was registered.The director macroeconomic Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Dr Chris N. Mukiza, said food crop items were expensive in September due to off harvesting season that has led to a reduction in food supply on the market. Read more ▪  UBOS: Inflation drops to 4.8% Data from the statistics house shows that average annual headline inflation has reduced by 0.6 percentage points to 4.8% due to lower food, fuel, energy and utility prices.The Consumer Price Index (CPI), the official measure of inflation is the rate at which prices rise over a given period of time. Annual headline Inflation dropped from 5.4%.Some data collection centers like Kampala Middle and Low Income, Masaka and Kampala high income experienced higher inflation than other regions at 6%, 5.5% and 5.1% respectively due to high prices of clothing, footwear, rent, meals in restaurants and other goods and services. The annual core inflation, a component of headline inflation which excludes food, fuel, electricity and metered water prices rose to 5.5% from 5.4% in July.Core inflation is used as a basis for setting the benchmark Central Bank Rate (CBR) which in turn affects commercial bank lending rates. A rise in core inflation can lead to a rise in lending rates. Read more ▪ UBOS: Statistics body to simplify reports for policy makers Tired of producing reports that excite no one except themselves, Uganda Bureau of Statistics will start packaging data in a way that is understandable across the board.Policy makers who are expected to rely on the statistics produced by Ubos to inform budgeting issues will be among the biggest beneficiaries. Businesses, organisations and researchers, let alone individual users of statistics will be the other beneficiaries of the readable and interpreted figures.If all goes according to the plan, the final National Population and Housing Census, will be produced in an explanatory way. Here, the figures quoted will be explained in a way that can easily be understood without consulting a technical person. Read more ▪ UBOS: January inflation down to 1.3% The purchasing power of the shilling is up.Data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) indicates that inflation dropped to 1.3%. Annual inflation declined from 1.8% recorded. Chris Mukiza, the UBOS director for macro-economic statistics, says the decline in inflation is due to decrease in food prices due to the harvest season and declining fuel prices. “There was a continued deflation in annual food prices to 3.3%, compared to 1.9% recorded,” Mukiza said. “The annual non-food inflation declined to 3.5%, compared to 3.6%,” he added. Core inflation, which excludes food, fuel, electricity and metered water, stood at 2.7%, unchanged. There were decreases in the prices of bananas, sweet potatoes, cassava, and other foods, the statistics office said, which drove down the food inflation by 2%. Read more ▪ UBOS: Food prices push December inflation down to 1.8 percent Uganda's headline inflation fell to 1.8% from 2.1%, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics said. 31. The reduction was as a result of reduced food prices in the markets surveyed by the statistics body. Core inflation - which excludes food, electricity and metered water - rose to 2.7% from 2.3%, it said. Food prices dropped 1.3% and declined 1.9%. The bureau said average annual headline inflation dropped to 4.3% from 5.5%. Bank of Uganda has pointed out that core inflation will remain in the range of 5% in the medium term but fears food prices might drive overall inflation upwards. Read more ▪ UBOS: Inflation rises to 1.4%Consumers paid sh1.4 more for manufactured goods as the sector struggled to recover from the lag-effects of the economic challenges, amid volatilities in foreign exchange.The Producer Price Index for manufacturing (PPI-M) released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) shows that inflation in the manufacturing sector rose by 1.4%, meaning that consumers had to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for the same basket of goods.PPI-M measures inflation in the manufacturing sector.This, according to David Senyonjo, a statistician at UBOS was due to prices increases registered for sugar, paper products, bricks and cement and textiles, clothing and footwear, driven by the deprecation of the shilling, coupled with reduced supply to markets.Read more ▪ UBOS: Food price volatility rises inflation to 2.1% Uganda’s inflation rate edged higher on the back of volatile food prices.The Consumer Price Index (CPI) – the official measure of inflation – released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) shows that inflation rose to 2.1% from 1.8% posted.According to Sam Kaisiromwe, a senior statistician at Ubos, high food prices have been due to reduced supply to markets.Food inflation, which accounts for the biggest percentage of goods and services that are used to measure inflation, increased to -1.6% compared to -2.7% recorded.The rise in inflation means that Ugandans have to pay a little more for a similar basket of goods.Stephen Kaboyo , the managing director of Alpha Capital Partners recently warned that the persistent weakening of the shilling could drive up inflation if the Central Bank does not take immediate action to arrest the decline.The weakening of the local unit against the dollar means traders need more shillings to buy a dollar, which increases operational costs from higher import prices. This, in turn, increases inflation because of its spillover effects. Read more ▪ UBS: Core Inflation Pushes Inflation upThe annual headline inflation for the year ending rose to 1.8% compared to the 1.4% that was recorded for the year, according to figures released by Uganda Bureau of Statistics recently.The increase, according to the Bureau, was largely attributed to annual core inflation that increased to 2.4% for the year compared to the 2.0% that was recorded for the year. Similarly, the annual food crops inflation increased to minus 0.8% for the year compared to minus 1.9% that was recorded.The annual EFU inflation is registered at 2.5% for the year. Uganda's inflation has stabilized in single digits for months, thanks to a tight, accommodative monetary policy stance implemented by Bank of Uganda. It [inflation] touched a 30% mark, the highest but was slowly brought down by BoU's cautious easing of interest rates.The Bank kept its policy interest rate-the central bank rate unchanged [at 11%] because it had largely won the inflation battle. Ubos will announce the second last CPI for this year at the end of this mo Read more ▪ UBOS releases Producer Price IndexUganda Bureau of Statistics released the producer price indices for manufacturing, hotels and construction sectors at Statistics House. The indices for hotels and restaurants indicate that annual prices for hotel services fell by 2.5 percent during the period, compared to the same period previously. This was attributed mainly to a drop in prices for hotel accommodation which dropped by 1.8 percent. However, hotel catering services increased by 11.6 percent with notable increase in prices of snacks, a la carte menu, beer, soda, mineral water, wines and spirits. The cost of production may have gone down, but the price is compounded by other costs such as transport, and other levies such as Value Added Tax, bank charges, which may make the price reductions negligible. The price fluctuations in accommodation and catering are attributed to foreign exchange rate, seasonal factors which affect hotel booking and change in consumer taste preferences. Read more ▪ UBOS: Annual Inflation Down 1.9 PercentUganda has recorded the lowest year-on-year inflation in the recent months at 1.9% for the year from the 2.8% that was recorded. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics said that the decline was largely attributed to a reduction in annual food inflation. It said annual food crops inflation dropped to minus 1.9% compared to the 1.5% rise that was recorded.Annual core inflation declined to 2.0% compared to the 3.1% for the year ended . The Annual EFU inflation registered a 2.5% increase for the year. The country recorded the highest year-on-year inflation and core in the region of 30% but was managed by Bank of Uganda's Inflation Targeting Lite (ITL) regime [which uses interest rates] to record to the current low levels. BoU will this month announce its policy interest rate (the Central Bank Rate) for the remaining months of the year.Read more ▪ UBOS: Increased food supply ease September inflation to 1.4% Inflation has continued on a downward trend for the seventh month in row, falling by 1.4 percentage points.This has been attributed to increased food supply and subdued demand due to lag effects of a tight monetary stance.The Consumer Price Index released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicates that consumer prices eased to 1.4 per cent from 2.8 per cent recorded.Releasing figures, the director macro-economic statistics Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Mr Chris Ndatira Mukiza, said the country is yet to recover from a slowdown in aggregate demand that resulted from a tight monetary policy deployed by Bank of Uganda to tame inflationary pressure.The tight monetary stance stifled growth in private sector credit as interest rates peaked to over 30 per cent.Read more ▪ UBOS: Inflation Drops to 2.8 Percent Uganda's annual headline inflation for the year declined to 2.8% from 4.3% that was recorded for the year , the Uganda Bureau of Statistics UBOS announced.The decline was largely attributed to a reduction in annual food crops inflation that decreased to 1.5% for the year from the 12.9% for the year.However, there was an increase in annual EFU inflation of 2.5% compared to the 0.3% .Similarly, the annual core inflation increased slightly to 3.1% for the year ending August 2014 compared to the 3.0% for the year. Read more▪ Underground Fuel Tanks Can Contaminate Fuel - UNBS▪ UBOS: Uganda Inflation Falls Annual inflation in the country dropped to 4.3% from the 5% registered .The decline according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) is attributed to the increased food production in the country which has caused food prices to decline in most parts of the country.According to a press statement from the Bureau, food inflation for the ending month dropped from 6.5% to about 5.6% while that of non-food items also dropped to 3.7% from 3.8%. However, despite the reduction in food prices, the country registered an increase in core inflation Prices of fresh food related items in most parts of the country have gone down starting from June because of the harvesting seasons in most parts of the country. Food items whose prices have been affected by the harvesting season include maize flour , fresh maize, beans and vegetables like greens tomatoes in some parts of the country.Core inflation which excluded food, fuel and other utilities prices increased to 3.0% for the year from 2.8% the previous year. Read more ▪ UBOS: Food harvest season brings down June inflation June Inflation declined to 4.9 per cent down from 5.4 per cent last month, as the harvest season of various food commodities started.According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the inflation drop was influenced by the annual food inflation that decreased to 7.1 per cent f, down from 8 per cent. Matooke, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes tomatoes and onions, beans groundnuts, rice and milk were cheaper in June and accessible in various parts of the country.“Beginning April, we usually have seasonal harvesting of food crops that is why inflation has gone down,” said Mr Vincent Nsubuga Musoke, a principal statistician at UBOS, during the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).Further more, the prices of other non-food commodities also went down in most centres, namely clothing, foot wear, charcoal, Kerosene and petrol. Read more▪ Constant budget cuts for UBOS irk MPs▪ Constant budget cuts for UBOS irk MPsParliament finance committee is concerned that Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) budget is reduced every financial year which affects the execution of its mandate.“We observe that the re-allocation resulted into numerous challenges for the Bureau to collect the necessary data and compile social-economic indicators like weekly and monthly inflation rates, quarterly and annual gross domestic product estimates and monthly index of production among other indicators,” the Kyaddondo North MP who is also finance committee chairperson, Robert Ssebunya explained.The Tororo County MP Geoffrey Ekanya said the current provision on the non-wage category largely caters for overhead cost yet the principal mandate of the Bureau involve collecting data in the country side. Read more ▪ UBOS: April inflation eases to 6.7 % with increased food supply Uganda’s annual headline inflation eased slightly by 0.4 percentage points in April on the back of a slowdown in food inflation due to increased food production and supply to markets.The Consumer Price Index (CPI), the official measure of inflation released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) yesterday, indicates the annual headline inflation rate for April declined to 6.7 per cent, from 7.1 per cent recorded in March.Data from the bureau shows food crop inflation decreased to 25.4 per cent from 28.3 per cent while food inflation eased to 12.2 per cent from 12.7 per cent during the period.The director macroeconomic statistics Ubos, Mr Chris Ndatira Mukiza, attributed the slowdown in inflation to increased food supplies to markets and decreases in prices of some manufactured products including sugar, cement and iron sheets. Read more ▪ High food prices raise March inflation Uganda’s consumer prices rose by 0.3 percentage points in March due to a rise in food prices.The Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) shows inflation rose to 7.1 per cent in March from a revised 6.8 per cent a month earlier.Food prices rose 12.7 per cent in March compared with 11 per cent in the previous month, driven by the rising cost of several fruits and vegetables.Presenting the CPI at Ubos offices, Mr Chris Ndatira Mukiza, the director Macro economic Statistics Ubos, attributed the increase in prices to decreased supplies of agricultural products to markets, owing to a prolonged dry spell experienced in most parts of the country.The rise in inflation therefore means that people’s purchasing power is being eroded, thus one needs more money to pay for a similar basket of goods and services. Read more ▪ Local manufacturers spent relatively less to manufacture products in the fourth quarter last year, the latest Producer Price Index for Manufacturing (PPI-M) shows.The PPI-M shows inflation in the manufacturing sector declined by 0.6 per cent in December 2013, compared to a 2.2 per cent rise registered in 2012, due to the appreciation of the Shilling against the dollar.The appreciation of the Shilling meant that importers of various products, including raw materials used in the manufacturing sector, spent fewer Shillings to buy the dollar – the currency used in international transactions – there by reducing the cost of production.The local unit which had gained stability in the first quarter of 2012 depreciated in the fourth quarter (October, November and December), hitting a low of Shs2,720 per dollar following a pull out of offshore investors and aid cuts due to the corruption scandals in the Office of the Prime Minister. Read more ▪ High operational costs pushing up inflation in building industry Increased operational costs resulting from the introduction of a Single Customs Territory in East Africa saw constructors pay more for inputs in December last year compared to December 2012.Latest Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) Construction Sector Indices show prices in the construction sector rose by 0.9 per cent in December last year, compared to a 1.7 per cent decline registered over the same period in 2012.Mr William Anguyo, the principal statistician in charge of Business and Industry Statistics at Ubos, said the introduction of a Single Customs Territory (SCT), which was new to clearing agents, led to delays in clearing of goods, resulting into an increase in suppliers’ operational costs which were then passed onto the final consumer in form of high prices. Read more ▪ UBOS releases producer price index showing The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) yesterday released the Producer Price Index (PPI) for the construction, hotel and manufacturing sectors for September to December 2013 at Statistics House in Kampala.The latest PPI reveal a general increase in the prices of construction materials and manufactured products, while the hotel industry generally recorded price falls over the festive period in December.The construction sector indices show that the prices of construction materials, wage rates, and equipment hire rates increased by 0.9% in the year ending December 2013, compared to the year ending in December 2012.The index examined the prices of construction inputs such as timber, paint, PVC pipes, water tanks, clay bricks and tiles, cement, concrete, steel bars, roofing sheets and iron and steel bars, electrical wires and cables, lime, stone aggregate, diesel and bitumen.The price increase was attributed to increase in wage rates due to the increased cost of living, as well as increase in the average prices of inputs for roads such as bitumen arising from a rise in operational costs at the port of entry in Mombasa. Read more ▪ Informal sector now growing faster, says Ubos The informal sector is the fastest growing segment of the economy, according to a recent report by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.According to the report, the number of businesses operating informally is multiplying at a speed that is far greater than the pace of enterprises that mutate into formal operations annually. And if the trend is not checked, economic analysts warn its impact on the economy could be grave as the government will be short of resources to fund its (national) budget. “Informal sector is the fastest growing sector in Uganda, accounting for 43 per cent of the total economy,” reads in part the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) data. Read more ▪  Uganda Keeps Lending Rate At 11.5% As Inflation Drops The Central Bank of Uganda yesterday pegged lending rates at 11.5 percent, the lowest since 2011 when the apex bank tightened monetary policy to control skyrocketing inflation.The move came in anticipation of a surge in inflation rates. Uganda’s annual core inflation rate dropped to 4.6% in January from 5.7% in December, according to data from the country’s bureau of statistics.“Although core inflation has decelerated, helped by recent Ugandan shilling appreciation, food prices which have risen strongly in recent months – are still a concern,” Standard Chartered economist Razia Khan said in a note.The central bank’s deputy governor, Louis Kasekende fears that the conflict in South Sudan, which he blames for some of Uganda’s economic troubles, if sustained could plunge Uganda into further economic misfortune. Read more ▪ UNBS to inspect Pre-paid metres Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) to start examining prepaid metres before issuance.The deal sealed comes on the heels of rising consumer complaints over exaggerated billings by the metres currently rolled out as a trial exercise by electricity distributor, Umeme.The MOU, a copy seen by the Daily Monitor, will enhance action and operation of both government bodies on the metres and ensure specific standards of quality control in the activities of licensees for electricity transmission, distribution, sale activities and feasibility studies for projects. Read more ▪ UBOS: Ugandan inflation slows to 6.7 percent in December Uganda’s headline inflation rate eased in December to 6.7 percent from 6.8 percent a month earlier, due to a slower rise in non-food prices, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.Uganda’s headline inflation rate eased in December to 6.7 percent from 6.8 percent a month earlier, due to a slower rise in non-food prices, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics said. On a month-on-month basis consumer prices increased 0.1 percent in December having fallen during the month before.Ugandan inflation has come down from an 18-year high of above 30 percent reached in 2011 and the easing trend suggests the economy can maintain fast growth without overheating.“I think the inflation trend clearly favours additional policy easing next month,” said Faisal Bukenya, head of market making at Barclays Bank in Kampala. Read more ▪ UBOS: More Supplies Drops Uganda Building Material PRI A buyer's market has emerged in Uganda due to abundant supplies of building materials which has led to a fall in construction costs in the third quarter of 2013.According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) construction sector indices survey covering June to September, prices for the whole sector decreased by 8.7% in the year ending September.UBOS Statistician, John Bonaventure Musoke told a news conference prices for construction inputs like cement, roofing sheets and limestone went down.Read more ▪ Ugandan inflation falls in Nov on slower rise in food costs Uganda's headline inflation rate fell sharply in the year to November as a rise in food prices slowed, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. Consumer prices fell 0.7 percent during November, helping to hold the year-on-year inflation rate to 6.8 percent, down from 8.1 percent a month earlier. Core inflation, which excludes both food and fuel costs, fell to 7.0 percent from 7.2 percent in October. "The annual food inflation rate for the year ending November decreased to 8.1 percent compared to the 10.9 percent recorded during the year ended October," the statistics office said in a statement. Read more ▪ Prices For Industrial Products Still Unstable Annual prices for all manufactured goods increased by 0.5 percent during the 12 month period up to September 2013 from September 2012 and still continued to shoot-up in the month of August with an increase of 3.3 percent. According to John Bonaventure Musoke, the senior statistician at Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOs) says the main contributors to the 0.5 percent increase were the drinks and tobacco by 9.8 percent mainly due to the rise in the prices of malt liquors attributed to a cost of raw material, textiles, clothing and foot ware. “The 4.5 percent rise is mainly due to the rise in prices of wearing apparel attributed to the cost of raw materials and chemical products which rose by 4.5 percent mainly due to the rise in the prices of soap products,” Musoke states. Read more ▪ Inflation in manufacturing sector increases by 0.5% Kampala- The manufacturing sector has experienced a marginal rise in inflation by 0.5 per cent, according to figures from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos).This implies that Ugandans paid slightly more for manufactured goods in the last 12 months ending September 2013, compared to the same period last year.The Producer Price Index for Manufacturing (PPI-M) released indicates that producer prices for manufactured goods increased by 0.5 per cent during the period. Read more ▪ Construction costs drop sharply The latest highlights from Uganda Bureau of Statistics have indicated a sharp decline in the costs of all input materials for the construction industry in the country.The declined is being reported in all three sub-sectors of residential hoses, non-residential houses, and civil works (roads, bridges, dams etc) The new price indices released at Statistics House in Kampala indicated an overall decline in input prices of 8.7 Percent from September last year. The areas studied include prices of all construction materials, wage rates and equipment hire rates. Read more ▪    BoU: 'Drought' blamed for the rate rise Bank of Uganda (BoU) raised its benchmark rate to 12 per cent to mitigate against food inflation. Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, governor BoU in a statement said that Uganda is currently facing a supply side shock to agriculture which has raised food prices and that this may also impede real economic growth in the current 2013/14 financial year. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics last week said that the pace of price increases of basic goods and services rose to 7.3 per cent in August from 5.1 per cent in July reflecting the increased cost of food as a result of the food shortage caused by the drought. Read more ▪ |