Sudan’s inflation rate hits 35 percent due to hike of energy prices

Sudan’s inflation rate rose to 35.52 percent in May, compared to 34.81 percent in April, an official report said Monday.

The report by Sudan’s Central Bureau of Statistics attributed the inflation rise to the continued hike in the prices of food and energy following the removal of subsidies on these commodities in November last year.

In November last year, the Sudanese government announced an increase in the prices of fuel and electricity to control the inflation hike and stop the decline of the national currency.

The measures mainly aimed to optimize the budget of 2017, achieve a growth rate of around 5.5 percent in the Gross Domestic Product, reduce the inflation rates, reform the currency’s exchange rate and arrange a new foreign exchange market and reduce the imports bill by avoiding importation of unnecessary commodities.

However, such measures have not yet achieved any positive effect.

The Sudanese economy has been suffering from the secession of South Sudan in 2011, which caused the country to lose three quarters of its oil wealth. Enditem

Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh

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