Producer prices increased across various commodities in the local mining sector during the 4th quarter of 2021, according to the latest Producer Price Index released this week by the Namibia Statistics Agency.
The indicator, first released in 2020, is designed to measure the average change in the price of goods and services either as they leave the place of production or as they enter the production process and it does not include imported products.
The index for mining of uranium, and thorium ores for 2021 rose to 69.3 basis points, representing an increase of 6.8% from the 64.9 basis points recorded during the same period of last year.
The index for significant activity in Namibia’s mining sector, mining and extraction of diamonds, increased to 124.6 basis points compared to 103.5 basis points recorded during the same
quarter a year earlier.
The annual inflation rate for mining and extraction of diamonds stood at 20.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021 an increase of 2.6% when compared to 17.9% recorded in the same period of the preceding year.
The producer prices index for the production and semi-manufacturing of lead, zinc and tin or their alloys from ores and scrap stood at 247.8 basis points, up from 163.4 basis points recorded in the same quarter of the previous year. The annual inflation rate for this class increased to 51.6% in the quarter under review up from 11% recorded during the same period of last year.
Meanwhile, the index for mining of other non-ferrous metals (aluminium, copper, lead, zinc and precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum) dropped slightly to 172.9 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2021 from 173.8 basis points recorded in the same quarter of 2020. Price levels in this sector declined by 0.5% in the quarter under review.
