How inflation rose in April 2025

Good morning! Let’s get into today’s article.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April 2025, focused on three major aspects: core inflation, monthly CPI changes, and group contributions to the annual inflation rate—beneficial for young professionals, entrepreneurs, and students in Botswana.

Core Inflation: What’s Beneath the Surface

• Trimmed Mean Core Inflation: Decreased slightly from 2.5% in March to 2.3% in April 2025.

• Core Inflation (Excluding Administered Prices): Rose slightly from 4.0% to 4.1%.

These measures exclude volatile items, such as fuel or taxes, to reveal the underlying trend. For Batswana youth, this means prices for most goods remain fairly stable, even though a few key services might still fluctuate.

 What it means: Young entrepreneurs and students budgeting monthly can still expect consistent prices on essentials like clothing, services, and tech items, helping them plan side hustles or save more effectively.

Monthly CPI Changes: April vs March 2025

• National CPI increased by 0.8%, from 135.7 to 136.8.

• Cities & Towns CPI increased by 0.9%.

• Rural Villages saw a 0.9% rise.

• Urban Villages increased by 0.8%.

While most group indices changed by less than 1%, the Miscellaneous Goods & Services group spiked by 5.9%, mainly due to:

• Insurance is rising by 12.1%.

• Personal Care rising by 0.8%.

 What does it mean:

• If you’re paying for insurance or beauty/self-care products, expect to spend more.

• For professionals and students commuting or living in cities, rent and service costs may edge up slightly.

Contributions to Annual Inflation Rate (April 2025 = 2.3%)

 What does it mean:

• Food remains the biggest inflation driver, affecting students and families most.

• Transport costs dropped, which is a plus for youth commuting or running delivery/logistics side hustles.

• Negative contribution from transport implies fuel prices or fares might have dropped, benefiting those who depend on them for business or travel.

How to Manage the Impact

Young Professionals:

• Re-evaluate insurance plans as prices surge.

• Lock in fixed rates where possible (e.g., rent, insurance).

Entrepreneurs:

• Adjust pricing strategies to account for higher service costs (e.g., personal care).

• Use stable transport costs as a competitive edge in delivery, logistics, or travel startups.

Students:

• Focus on bulk-buying food and essentials before further price increases.

• Consider shared services (e.g., insurance, transportation) with friends to manage costs.

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