Maputo, May 15, 2026 (Lusa) – Bank of Mozambique data shows that physical money circulating in the country fell in March for the third consecutive month to 67.596 billion meticais (€898 million).
A statistical report from the central bank showed that cash in circulation reached a peak of 74.937 billion meticais (€995 million) in December, following consecutive monthly growth since September.
However, money in circulation fell to 69.041 billion meticais (€917 million) in January, and since then the bank withdrew 2.5%.
Central banks normally use this withdrawal of cash from circulation as a standard contractionary monetary policy practice to reduce the money supply and contain rising prices.
Historical data from the central bank shows that cash in circulation in Mozambique (the broader M3 money supply) increased by nearly 2% over a year.
This increase followed the introduction of a new series of the metical on 16 June 2024.
The National Statistics Institute (INE) released data this week showing that prices in Mozambique rose by 0.63% in April, nearly triple March's growth.
The April Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the INE indicates that Mozambique “recorded a price increase of around 0.63%” compared to March (0.22%).
The food and non-alcoholic beverages sector again influenced the figures, contributing 0.56 percentage points to the total monthly variation, compared to 0.37 percentage points in February.
The April CPI, following a month when severe fuel shortages hit the entire country, points out that accumulated inflation for the first four months of 2026 now stands at 2.89%, while year-on-year inflation rose to 4.41%.
Prices in Mozambique increased by 3.23% in 2025, according to previous INE data, falling below the 2024 record and government forecasts.
Mozambique recorded eight monthly declines (deflation) in the consumer price index in less than a year and a half, four of which occurred between April and July 2025, before price rises resumed in August.
Previous INE data shows that accumulated inflation for 2024 stood at 4.15%, down from 5.3% in 2023 but still below the nearly 13% peak in July 2022.
The government forecast an inflation rate of around 7% in Mozambique for 2025, matching its estimate for 2026.
PVJ/LYT // ADB.
Lusa
