By: Nyima Sillah
Food inflation increased from 23.5% in June of last year to 24.9% in June of this year, revealed the governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia(CBG).
Addressing journalists during the apex bank’s quarterly press briefing on Tuesday, Governor Buah Saidy said bread and cereals, fish, fruits, vegetables, and
imported food sub-categories were among the key drivers of the uptick in food inflation.
He, however, noted that non-food inflation declined marginally from 11.5 percent in June 2023 to 11.3 percent in July 2023 thanks largely to a decline in the transport price index.
“Inflation continues to accelerate, primarily driven by strong food prices and the adjustments in electricity and water tariffs that took effect in April of this year. Headline inflation rose to 18.4 percent in July 2023, up from 17.8 percent in June 2023,” the CBG governor explained.
He pointed out that the tariff adjustment had an immediate impact on the consumer price index and the pass-through effect continues to push prices up but he was quick to acknowledge that the stability of the exchange rate is putting a damper on the prices of imported goods and services.
On domestic debt stock, Mr. Saidy explained that the nominal value of government domestic debt stock increased by 6.5% from December 2022 to July 2023, reaching D40.6 billion or 32.5% of GDP.
“The stock of government bonds accounted for 51.4 percent of the domestic debt stock in July 2023. Similarly, the combined stock treasury and Sukuk Al Salaam bills accounted for the remaining 48.5 percent,” he disclosed.
Governor Saidy explained that the yields on government securities continue to rise in response to the government’s borrowing needs and liquidity conditions in the money market.
“The weighted average interest rate on treasury bills increased from 9.8 percent in December 2022 to 18.8 percent in July 2023,” he reported.