Inflation Rate in Tunisia Decreases to 7% in July 2024
According to the monthly bulletin of the National Institute of Statistics published on Tuesday, August 6, the inflation rate in Tunisia decreased to 7% in July 2024, down from 7.3% in June. This decline is mainly due to a slowdown in the pace of price increases compared to the previous year, despite a monthly increase in prices.
Moderate Increase in Food Prices
Food prices rose by 9.4% over the past year. The largest increases were observed for ovine meats (+24%), food oils (+21.8%), condiments (+16%), fresh fish (+12.5%), and fresh vegetables (+9%). This significant increase in the food sector contrasts with trends observed in other sectors.
Dynamics of Manufactured Products and Services
Manufactured product prices rose by 6.8% over the past year, driven by increases in clothing and footwear prices (+9.6%) and household maintenance products (+8.4%). Services, on the other hand, saw a 5.1% increase, with a notable rise in restaurant, café, and hotel prices (+8.7%). This dynamic in manufactured products and services also contributes to the overall inflation rate.
Underlying Inflation
Excluding food and energy products, underlying inflation decreased to 6.5%, down from 6.8% the previous month. Free prices rose by 7.8% over the past year, while regulated prices increased by 4.2%. This decrease in underlying inflation reflects a certain easing of fundamental inflationary pressures.
Monthly Price Changes
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.4% in July compared to June. This increase is due to the rise in food prices (+0.4%), restaurant and hotel services (+1.2%), and furniture and household maintenance products (+0.7%). More specifically, fruit prices rose by 3.6%, beef prices by 0.8%, and fresh fish prices by 0.7%. However, poultry prices fell by 0.7%, ovine meat prices by 0.5%, and vegetable prices by 0.5%. These monthly variations show seasonal fluctuations and punctual price adjustments.
Contributions to Inflation
Manufactured products and services made the most significant contributions to overall inflation, with 2.6% and 1.8%, respectively. On the regime side, free non-food products contributed 3.5%, free food products contributed 2.5%, and regulated food products contributed the least with 0.1%. These contributions show how different sectors and price regimes influence total inflation.
