Sudan's annual inflation rate jumped to 45.3 percent in June, reflecting a 10 percent rise in prices of consumer goods on the month, the Central Statistics Office said on Monday. Prices have surged in Sudan since South Sudan seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country's oil output - Sudan's main source of foreign currency, which it needs to support its pound and pay for food and other imports. The statistics office said inflation had been increasing for several months due to rising prices of consumer products and services. In May, annual inflation was running at 41.2 percent. The soaring cost of living is causing social unrest. Austerity measures and government plans to cut fuel subsidies prompted protests last year in which dozens were killed and hundreds were injured. Last month, several unemployed Sudanese staged protests demanding jobs. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has remained in power for 25 years despite armed rebellions, U.S. trade sanctions, an economic crisis, an attempted coup and an indictment from the International Criminal Court on charges of masterminding war crimes in the troubled western region of Darfur. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/105676.aspx
