In July 2019, headline inflation increased to 2.9 percent from 2.8 percent in June 2019. According to the latest data from Statistics Botswana, the increase in inflation during July 2019 reflects the rise in the rate of annual change in prices for most categories of goods and services, led by ‘Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages’ (from 1.3 to 1.6 percent). Other categories contributing to the higher inflation are: ‘Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’ (from 3.4 to 3.6 percent), Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance (from 2.1 to 2.3 percent), Miscellaneous Goods and Services (from 4.8 to 5 percent) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (from 1.7 to 1.8 percent).  The rise in inflation (from -0.1 to 0 percent in ‘Communication’ also contributed to the higher overall annual inflation in July than in June. However, the upward pressure on inflation was partly offset by inflation decreasing with respect to: Clothing and Footwear (from 1.1 to 0.9 percent); Health (from 1.2 to 1.1 percent); Recreation and Culture (from 0.2 to 0.1 percent); and Restaurants and Hotels (from 2.3 to 2.2 percent). Inflation remained unchanged for Transport (6 percent) and Education (3.2 percent).  

The trimmed mean measure of core inflation and inflation excluding administered prices increased from 2.5 to 2.6 percent and 2 to 2.1 percent, respectively, between June and July, 2019.