Fuel prices fire up inflation

Higher fuel prices pushed transport costs sharply higher in August, becoming the biggest source of inflationary pressure as Namibia’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 5%.The transport category, which accounts for 14.3% of the consumer basket, recorded annual inflation of 13.2%, compared with deflation of 1% in August 2025.Transport prices also rose sharply on a monthly basis, increasing 3.7% in August after falling 3.1% in July.The increase was driven largely by the cost of operating personal vehicles, as well as public transport.Inflation for the operation of personal transport equipment rose to 17.1%, from a deflation of 2.8% a year earlier. In this category, prices of petrol and diesel recorded 25.1% inflation versus a fall of 7.2% in August 2025.Licence and registration fees also increased, with inflation rising to 8.7% from zero a year earlier.The increase in fuel costs came against a backdrop of renewed volatility in global oil markets, including concerns over disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil shipments.Effects extend far beyond motorists The impact was not confined to motorists.Public transport services recorded annual inflation of 14.9%, up sharply from 1.0% a year earlier. Taxi transportation recorded inflation of 15.4%, while rail transport rose 15.6%.Air transport recorded inflation of 17%, while bus transport increased by 12.6%.The sharp increase in transport costs made the category the largest contributor to Namibia’s overall annual inflation rate, adding 2 percentage points to the 5.0% headline rate.Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed a further 1 percentage point, while food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 0.8 percentage points.The fuel-driven increase stands out because price pressures elsewhere in the consumer basket were more moderate.How did this affect the shopping basket? Food inflation eased across several major categories compared with a year earlier.Fish inflation slowed to 3.7% in August from 8.3% in August 2025, while meat inflation fell to 3.8% from 8.3%.The slowdown was particularly pronounced in beef, where inflation declined to 3.7% from 13.7%. Sausages moved into deflation of 0.7%, compared with inflation of 9% a year earlier. Bacon prices also fell 2%, against inflation of 3.1% previously.Oils and fats recorded inflation of 1.8%, down from 6%, as cooking oil inflation fell sharply to 0.5% from 8.1%.Coffee, tea and cocoa inflation also moderated to 3.5% from 7.2%, with coffee prices rising 3.3%, compared with 12.7% a year earlier.Housing costs, however, continued to exert pressure. The category, which carries the largest weight in the consumer basket at 28.4%, recorded annual inflation of 4.3%, up from 3.4% a year earlier.Electricity, gas and other fuels recorded inflation of 4.1%, compared with 1.6% a year earlier. Regular maintenance and repair of dwellings rose to 4.0% from 2.0%, while rental payments increased to 4.3% from 3.7%.Despite the annual increase, housing costs fell on a monthly basis, recording deflation of 0.4% in August compared with inflation of 0.8% in July.Regional price creep The impact of transport costs was also evident across the country's inflation zones.Khomas recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 5.9%, up from 2.9% a year earlier, with transport inflation rising to 14.4% from -1.9%.Zone 3 recorded inflation of 5.2%, compared with 3.2% a year earlier, while transport inflation increased to 13.3% from -2%.Zone 1 had the lowest annual inflation rate at 4%, up from 3.6%, with transport inflation rising to 12.2% from 0.3%.National monthly inflation increased to 0.6% in August from 0.1% in July.Core inflation, which strips out some of the more volatile price movements, stood at 3.8%, below the headline rate.

Fuel prices fire up inflation

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-11

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Fuel prices fire up inflation

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-11

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