Tanzania's annual headline inflation rose sharply from 3.2 percent in March to 4 percent in April, a near three-year high, as skyrocketing fuel prices began to impact all economic sectors in the wake of the global oil supply crisis caused by the US/Israel war on Iran.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report, transport is the key inflation driver, recording 9.2 percent in April, from 4 percent the previous month.

Inflation in the food and non-alcoholic beverages category, which accounts for more than a quarter of the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI)'s fixed basket of goods and services, jumped from 5.5 percent to 5.7 percent, as the overall index reached 124.61, a 1.3 percent monthly increase and just over 4 percent year-on-year.

In the food category alone, prices went up by 0.9 percent between March and April, with some staples such as cocoyams, at 9 percent, fruits (6.7 percent), cooking bananas (5.3 percent) and dry cassava (4.1 percent) recording the largest increases

Commuter bus fares went up by 3.9 percent, taxi fares by 7.8 percent and bodaboda/bajaji by 14.6 percent, on the back of diesel and petrol price hikes of 29.3 percent and 29.6 percent respectively, between March and April, according to the NCPI.

Price increases of 13.4 percent for kerosene and 3.1 percent for charcoal added pressure on household incomes, while the index also registered monthly increases of 0.6 percent and 1.6 percent in the costs of health and education services, respectively.

But the prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco remained relatively stable, with a monthly increase of just 0.3 percent.

According to NBS, the NCPI's core inflation rate, which excludes volatile items such as unprocessed food, energy and utilities, increased from 2.2 percent in March to 3.1 percent in April.

The core index provides policymakers with a more stable measure of underlying general price trends.

Tanzania's inflation had remained steady at 3.2 percent in February and March, against an average of 3.3 percent in 2025, amid efforts by the central bank to maintain a stable monetary policy to manage external pressures such as the fuel crisis.

In April, Bank of Tanzania said it was keeping its lending rate at 5.75 percent, the lowest in the East African Community. Even with the latest indication of hard-to-control acceleration, the headline inflation rate remains within the country's medium-term target of 3-5 percent.

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