RABAT  - Morocco’s annual consumer price inflation dropped to 1.1 percent in September from 1.7 percent in August as food price rises slowed from last year, the High Planning Commission said on Monday.

Annual food inflation dropped to 0.6 percent in September, down from 1.1 percent in August, while non-food inflation increased to 2.1 percent from 1.9 percent.

Inflation of goods and miscellaneous services eased to 6.3 percent in September from 6.5 percent in the previous month. Communication costs remained flat at 0.3 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price index rose to 0.3 percent in September from 0.1 percent in August as food price inflation increased to 0.5 percent from 0.2 percent.

The commission forecast Morocco’s annual inflation would rise from 0.8 percent in 2017 to 1.7 percent in 2018 and then slow to 1.3 percent in 2019.

(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Andrew Heavens) ((ahmed.eljechtimi@thomsonreuters.com;))