Maputo, Mozambique, 10 Aug – The Mozambican economy grew by 7.1 percent in the first half of the year despite the exogenous shocks that led to a rise in prices of basic goods, the Minister for Planning and Development said Tuesday in Maputo.

Speaking at the end of a Council of Ministers meeting, Aiuba Cuereneia said there was still the possibility of reducing inflation to one figure by the end of the year and that the country’s currency, the metical, had continued to appreciate since the end of 2010.

According to figures from the Bank of Mozambique, the metical appreciated by 14.56 percent against the dollar and 5.46 percent against the South African rand.

From June 2010 to June of this year, the rate of inflation measured by the average of the indexes over the previous 12 months was 14.7 percent, and the government projects inflation of 9.5 percent for this year.

Minister Cuereneia also said that Mozambique had exported goods worth US$635.2 million in the first half and that foreign reserves had totalled US$2.096 billion, exceeding a projection of US$1.895 billion.

Despite the satisfactory results in domestic terms, the minister said that Mozambique was feeling the adverse effects of the world economy, namely the prices of wheat and fuel.

“In December 2010, wheat cost US$306.5 per ton and in June, 2011 it cost US$326.4 and oil in December cost US$91.8 per barrel and in 2011 that price rose to US$113.8 per barrel,” Cuereneia said noting that these prices were affecting Mozambique’s economy. (macauhub)