MBABANE, ESWATINI — Eswatini’s headline inflation cooled to 2.6% in June 2026, offering much-needed breathing room to consumers and pointing toward stabilizing macroeconomic conditions in the Kingdom. According to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), this is 0.1 percentage points lower than the 2.7% recorded in May 2026, and a notable 0.3 percentage point drop from the 2.9% registered in June last year.

Released under the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, the report highlights a steady deceleration in the cost of living. This downward trajectory reflects positive pressure on consumer purchasing power, positioning Eswatini as a stable economic environment relative to regional peers. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices edged up by a negligible 0.1% between May and June 2026. This minimal change was supported by marginal price drops in key categories, including housing, utilities, transport, and hospitality services.

The CSO highlighted that the CPI remains an indispensable tool for steering national policies. It plays a critical role in informing monetary decisions by the Central Bank of Eswatini, setting wage benchmarks, updating national accounts, and indexing contracts.

With inflation settling well within healthy margins, policymakers are presented with a flexible landscape to support growth. The low inflationary environment reduces immediate pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates, boosting domestic business confidence. However, despite the cooling headline figure, economic stakeholders warn that localized global supply chain shifts and regional energy tariff hikes could still threaten price stability in the latter half of 2026.

Source: https://www.gov.sz/images/planningministry/KINGDOM%20OF%20ESWATINI%20INFLATION%20REPORT_JUNE%202026.pdf