Inflation eases in Sudan: statistics office

Sudan’s inflation rate declined for a third consecutive month in October, slowing to 28.2 percent from 39.2 percent in September, the Central Statistics Office said on Wednesday, as the effect of fuel subsidy cuts introduced last year eased. Prices have soared in Sudan since South Sudan seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country’s oil output, the main source of the foreign currency used to support the Sudanese pound and to pay for food and other imports. The rising cost of living has caused social discontent. Austerity measures and subsidy cuts prompted protests last year in which dozens were killed and hundreds were injured. “Last year, when the government introduced economic measures to remove fuel subsidies, inflation rose from 27 percent in September to 40 percent in October as a result of this shock,” Al-Alim Abdel Ghani, a senior statistics official, told Reuters. “In recent months, the economy has begun to absorb this shock,” Ghani added. (Source: Reuters) Oil production upgrade According to a report by Sudan Vision, First Vice President, Lt. Gen. Bakri Hassan Saleh directed the Ministry of Petroleum to implement its plan to upgrade oil production of the country. The Minister of Petroleum said that he briefed the First Vice President on the detailed plan to upgrade the production according to the agreements signed with Chinese companies, pointing out that the plan aims at making a qualitative leap in oil industry. The Minister revealed the completion of contacts, adding the signature of the programme will be by the end of this month. (Sudan Vision)File photoRelated:‘IMF figures on Sudan inadequate; economy imploding’: analyst (28 September 2014) Oil in Darfur waiting to be explored: expert (26 September 2014)