Prices Fell

Consumer prices in Rwanda's urban areas fell 0.35 percent in January from a month earlier, helping ease the year-on-year urban inflation rate to 7.81 percent from 8.34.

It’s reported Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel prices fell 1.29 percent from December, while transport costs were down 1.31 percent month-on-month.

Rwanda's central bank said last week its monetary policy would remain cautious to safeguard against stubborn regional inflationary pressures.

Rwanda has had a better run on inflation than other countries in east Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania where double digit inflation and weak currencies prompted authorities to increase interest rates to around 20 percent in some cases.

On a year-on-year basis, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices, which have a 35.38 percent weighting on the urban index, rose 12.75 percent, faster than the 11.22 percent recorded in December.