Global inflation has been increasing due to COVID-19 pandemic which induced supply and demand mismatches associated with supply chain disruptions and higher commodity prices.
At the same time, some major economies continue to provide fiscal support to sustain recovery efforts, while the emerging market and developing economies have reduced fiscal support as a direct result of rising public debt levels.
Moreover, some central banks have opted to raise policy rates to curb the threat of rising inflation.
Bank of Papua New Guinea Acting Governor Benny Popoitai noted that whilst there have been improvements in the domestic supply chain, inflation remains a concern especially with the rise of Delta variant cases, and now the emergence of the new Omicron variant across the globe and its spillover effects into domestic prices.
The annual inflation outcome to the September quarter of 2021 was 4.3 percent as released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), following a lower increase of 3.3 percent in the June quarter.
The Acting Governor cautioned that the increase in inflation reflected higher imported inflation mainly driven by high international oil prices, as well as domestic supply chain disruptions.
Mr Popoitai warned that it was imperative to remain vigilant on the effect of the pandemic on the global and domestic supply chains, and its impact on domestic inflation.