The consumer price index, which measures the rate of increase in the price of goods and services, increased to 16.47 per cent in January.
This is the highest point since April 2017.
The report released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that food inflation has also crossed the 20 per cent mark.
It stated that the figure is 0.71 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in December 2020 (15.75 per cent).
Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the headline index.
The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending January 2021 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 13.62 per cent, representing a 0.37 percentage point increase over 13.25 per cent recorded in December 2020.
On month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.49 per cent in January 2021.
On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.52 per cent in January 2021, down by 0.13 percentage points when compared to the rate recorded in December 2020, while the rural index also rose by 1.46 per cent in January 2021, down by 0.12 compared to the rate that was recorded in December 2020 (1.58 per cent).
The urban inflation rate increased by 17.03 per cent (year-on-year) in January 2021 from 16.33 per cent recorded in December 2020, while the rural inflation rate increased by 15.92 per cent in January 2021 from 15.20 per cent in December 2020.
The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index was 14.23 per cent in January 2021.
This is higher than the 13.86 per cent reported in December 2020, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in January 2021 was 13.04 per cent compared to 12.67 per cent recorded in December 2020.
