BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundi's inflation rate accelerated to 9.4 percent year-on-year in February from 7.6 percent in January as food prices rose faster than a month earlier, official data showed on Tuesday.
The Institute of Economic Studies and Statistics said food prices rose 11.2 percent year-on-year in February compared to 7.1 a month earlier.
Last week, the Trade and Industry Ministry raised fuel pump prices more than 2 percent to mitigate a depreciation in the local currency in February, likely boosting the headline figure for March.
The Burundi franc also weakened 4 percent in February, the central bank said, meaning prices of imported goods should rise.
The import-dependent east African country is grappling with a trade deficit which narrowed only fractionally in 2012 to $560 million, almost a quarter of its gross domestic product.
Burundi's population is growing by about 3 percent annually while the country's food output is only rising around 2 percent a year, the Bujumbura government says, highlighting the structural challenges the landlocked nation faces.
The government forecasts inflation will surge back into double digits this year, to around 14 percent. Inflation peaked at over 25 percent in April 2012 on the back of high food prices before slowing to 7.6 percent in January.
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