RABAT (Reuters) – Inflation in Morocco, as measured by consumer prices, stood at 0.9 percent in January led mostly by higher food prices, official data showed on Monday.
Food prices, which account for about 40 percent of the consumer price index’s total weighting, rose 1.6 percent in January compared to their level a year earlier, the state’s High Planning Authority said.
Underlying inflation, a gauge used by Morocco’s central bank to set the benchmark interest, stood in January at 1.2 percent compared to its level in January, 2011, the authority said.
On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.2 percent from December after a 0.3 percent rise in food prices.
Inflation in 2011 stood at 0.9 percent, which was below the central bank’s 1 percent forecast. The state has spent the equivalent of 6 percent of the $97-billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) subsidises staples, mostly wheat and sugar, as well as energy products.
