Cape Verde Inflation Drops to 1.4% as Prices Cool
Cape Verde’s inflation rate continued its downward trajectory in July, signaling a significant cooling of consumer prices across the archipelago. According to the latest data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Wednesday, the 12-month average inflation rate fell to 1.4%, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month.
Year-on-Year Growth Slows
The slowdown was even more pronounced in year-on-year comparisons. Annual inflation stood at just 0.4% in July, representing a sharp 0.7 percentage point drop from June. This trend was mirrored in the core inflation indicator—which strips out volatile items like energy and unprocessed food—which also settled at 0.7% year-on-year.
For the month of July alone, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.2%, a slower pace than the 0.5% increase recorded in June. Most notably, the accumulated inflation since the start of 2024 remains in negative territory at -0.7%, a stark contrast to the same period in 2025 when prices were nearly 3 percentage points higher.
Sector Breakdown: Travel Costs Up, Transport Down
The INE report highlighted shifting costs across different sectors of the economy. The primary drivers of price increases in July were found in the hospitality and service sectors, including:
- Hotels, restaurants, and cafes
- Household accessories and equipment
- Routine home maintenance and miscellaneous services
Conversely, consumers saw some relief in other areas. The largest price drops were recorded in the costs of transport, as well as alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
These figures suggest a stabilizing economic environment for the island nation as it moves through the second half of the year, following the global inflationary pressures that marked the previous two years.
Image: Pexels – Paul Stam
