WINDHOEK, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's central bank said Wednesday that it expects the domestic economy to remain weak for 2018 as a whole.
Bank of Namibia governor Ipumbu Shiimi said in a monetary policy announcement that domestic economic activity remained weak during the first 10 months of 2018, although some sectors showed signs of improvement.
"Activity in sectors such as agriculture and wholesale and retail trade continued to decline, although there were notable improvements in sectors such as mining, transport, and communication as well as manufacturing," he noted.
Shiimi said annual inflation fell to an average of 4.1 percent for the first 10 months of 2018 from 6.4 percent in the corresponding period of 2017.
"Since the previous policy meeting, however, inflation has been trending upward from 4.4 percent in August 2018 to 4.8 percent in September and 5.1 percent in October, mainly due to rising fuel prices," he added.
According to Shiimi, recent declines in fuel prices, however, suggest that the risk of further upward pressure on inflation from this source has been reduced considerably.
Meanwhile, overall inflation is estimated to average around 4.3 percent in 2018 and projected at 5.4 percent for 2019.
