Consumer prices in Tanzania rose 1.5 per cent in December on higher food prices, but full-year 2010 inflation fell to 5.5 per cent from double-digit figures a year ago, the statistics body said on Saturday. Inflation marginally missed the central bank's target of 5.0 per cent for 2010, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. "The annual average inflation rate for the year 2010 (from Jan-Dec) decreased to 5.5 per cent from 12.1 per cent registered for the year 2009," Ruth Minja, NBS principal statistician, told a news conference. "Annual inflation rates for the year 2010 had a downward movement from 10.9 per cent in January 2010 to 5.6 per cent in December 2010." NBS said Tanzania's year-on-year inflation rate rose slightly to 5.6 per cent in December from 5.5 per cent in November. The main food items that contributed to the increase in December included bread and cereals by 2.4 per cent, meat by 4.3 per cent, fish by 4.4 per cent and vegetables by 4.8 per cent. "Annual inflation rate for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel went down to 12.1 per cent in December 2010 compared with 14.4 per cent for the year ended November 2010."
