Some good news amid the gloom

Producer inflation slowed more than expected in January, which could be good news for consumer inflation in the coming months.

The producer price index (PPI) for final manufactured goods - considered the headline producer inflation figure - increased 5.9% in January from a year earlier.

That compared with an unrevised 7.1% increase in December.

Food products, beverages andtobacco products contributed to the January increase, rising 9.5% and accounting for 3.1 percentage points. Food inflation should ease as the severe drought that gripped the country eases in some areas.

Prices of meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, oils and fats rose 10.3%; dairy prices were up 13.5%.

But grain prices and animal feeds rose just 5.4%, which may help bring down the prices of downstream food products.

Another increase in sin taxes - on alcohol, tobacco and, soon, sugary drinks - means this category could maintain its inflationary contribution when those take effect.

Energy and fuel were also main factors in January's producer inflation, with the category "coke, petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products" rising 7.4% and contributing 1.6 percentage points of the year-on-year increase.