Morocco’s Consumer Price Index Rises 0.3% in February, Transport Costs Surge

The increase in the CPI in February 2021 is mainly due to the increase in the index of non-food products by 0.9% and the decrease in that of food products by 0.8%, the HCP said in an information note on the CPI for February 2021. For non-food products, the differences range from a 0.1% drop for "leisure and culture", "communication" and "health" to a 2.5% increase for "transport".

Regarding the annual change, the CPI recorded a 0.1% increase in the index of non-food products and a 0.1% decrease in the index of food products in February 2021. For the declines recorded on food products between January and February, they are related to "vegetables" with 1.5%, "fish and seafood" and "meats" with 1.3% and "sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery" with 0.2%. On the other hand, prices have risen by 2.4% for "oils and fats", 1.6% for "fruits" and 0.3% for "milk, cheese and eggs". For non-food products, it is the prices of "fuels" that have increased the most, with 2.5%, the HCP pointed out.

Moreover, Agadir, Tangier and Errachidia are the cities that have experienced the largest increases in the CPI with 0.3%. Oujda and Settat recorded 0.2% and Marrakech, Tetouan and Al-hoceima, 0.1%. On the other hand, Safi and Dakhla had the largest declines with 0.6% and 0.2% respectively. Taking these conditions into account, the underlying inflation indicator, which excludes volatile price products and public tariff products, would have recorded a 0.2% increase in February 2021, compared to January 2021 and 0.6% compared to February 2020, the HCP concluded.