RABAT  - Morocco's consumer price index was unchanged in February from a year earlier, after falling 0.5 percent year-on-year the previous month, the high commission for planning said on Friday.

Food prices fell by 1.3 percent year-on-year in February after rising by 2.3 percent year-on-year in January. Non-food prices increased year-on-year by 0.9 percent in February after falling by 0.8 percent a month earlier.

On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price index was flat after a 0.3 percent rise in January.

Core annual inflation stood at 1.1 percent in February.

The central bank expects inflation to drop to 0.6 percent in 2019 from 1.9 percent in 2018 before picking up to 1.1 percent in 2020.

(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Peter Graff) ((ahmed.eljechtimi@thomsonreuters.com;))