Mozambique: Inflation slows to 0.68% in February

Prices in Mozambique rose by 0.68% in February, half the increase recorded in January, which was a period of logistical difficulties due to flooding in the country, according to data released today by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The February Consumer Price Index (CPI) from INE indicates that Mozambique “recorded a price increase of around 0.68%”, compared with January (1.26%), again influenced by the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector, which contributed 0.37 positive percentage points to the total monthly variation. The report highlights the monthly variation by product, namely increases in the prices of charcoal (9.8%), tomatoes (5.5%), mackerel (3.1%), cabbage (8.0%), lettuce (17.6%), cooking oil (1.9%) and cement (1.2%).

“These contributed about 0.43 positive percentage points to the total monthly variation,” the CPI report states. From mid-January to early February, traffic on National Roads 1 and 2, from Maputo to the north and south respectively, was completely cut off due to flooding – which affected almost 725,000 people – disrupting supply chains and driving up prices. The February CPI notes that accumulated inflation for the first two months of 2026 stands at 1.94%, while year-on-year inflation is at 3.20%.

Prices in Mozambique rose by 3.23% in 2025, according to previous INE data, below the figure recorded in 2024 and the government’s forecasts. Mozambique recorded eight monthly declines (deflation) in the consumer price index in less than a year and a half, four of them between April and July last year, with increases resuming from August. Accumulated inflation in 2024, according to earlier INE data, stood at 4.15%, compared with 5.3% in 2023, but below the peak of nearly 13% reached in July 2022. The government had forecast inflation of around 7% in Mozambique for 2025, the same estimate as for 2026.