Burundi inflation picks up to 17.6 percent in July

BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundi's year-on-year inflation rate rose to 17.6 percent in July from 17.3 percent a month earlier, driven by housing, water and energy price rises, the country's statistics office said on Wednesday.

Activists and trade unions warned last week that they were planning to call a general strike in the coffee-producing nation in protest against high utility costs and power rationing.

The price index for housing, water and energy surged 30.4 percent in the year to end-July, from 29.9 percent in June, the Institute of Economic Studies and Statistics (ISTEEBU) said.

Only 3 percent of Burundi's population has access to electricity, while demand for power grows by about 13 percent every year.

The International Monetary Fund forecast this month that inflation would drop to 14.7 percent by the end of 2012 before easing further to 8.4 percent at the close of 2013.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/burundi-inflation-picks-17-6-percent-july-124347942--business.html

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