Ethiopia's inflation falls in November, slowing food price rises help

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopia's inflation fell in November compared from a month earlier, helped by a slower rise in food prices, the statistics office said on Monday.

The Central Statistics Agency said in a statement that inflation fell to 33% year-on-year from 34.2% in October.

On a monthly basis, inflation was -0.6% compared with -0.1% in October, it said, adding that food inflation was 38.9% from 40.7% in October.

Fighting erupted a year ago in northern Ethiopia between the federal government and forces belonging to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

The lack of commercial goods in Tigray and neighbouring Amhara region, where fighting spread in July, has led to increases in food prices in both regions, according to the United Nations.

Intercommunal violence and drought are affecting other parts of Ethiopia, which were also affecting food availability and prices.

The World Food Programme estimated on Monday that 13.6 million people were food insecure in Ethiopia because of the extended impacts of conflict, drought, flooding, desert locust invasions, market disruptions, high food prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Maggie Fick)