Physical money circulating in Mozambique increased by 10.6% in the space of a month, closing December 2023 at 78,270 million meticais (1,117 million euros), according to data from an official report.
According to a statistical report by the Bank of Mozambique, the money in circulation in the country at the end of December 2023 corresponded to almost 243.2 million banknotes and 553.1 million coins, compared to the total value of 70.775 million meticais (1.010 million euros) circulating at the end of November.
Despite this growth in the space of a month, the money in circulation at the end of 2023 was still 2.3% lower than the 80,870 million meticais (1,155 million euros) circulating in Mozambique in December 2022.
Withdrawing money from circulation is a usual practice of contractionary monetary policy, reducing the money supply. It is normally used by central banks to contain price rises.
Last December, the 20 meticais banknote was the most widely circulated in Mozambique, with 47.8 million units, while the 0.50 meticais led the coins, with 122.8 million units.
Mozambique recorded accumulated inflation of 5.30% in 2023, having grown by 1.29% in December compared to November, according to data released Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
The INE data indicates that Mozambique “recorded an increase in the general price level of around 5.30%” over 12 months, from January to December.
“The food and non-alcoholic beverages division saw the biggest rise in prices, contributing 3.34 percentage points,” INE said in its Consumer Price Index (CPI).