A 2.0 percent jump in Ugandan food prices in February from a month earlier helped drive the country's headline inflation rate higher for the fourth month in a row, the statistics office said on Monday.

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) said the food price rises contributed to a 1.3 percent month-on-month increase in the consumer price index, following on from a 1.2 percent month-on-month jump in January.

The headline inflation rate leapt one percentage point to 6.0 percent in February from a month earlier, continuing its steady rise after slowing to just 0.1 percent in October.

UBOS said food crop prices were 6.9 percent higher in February than the same month a year earlier, up from 1.2 percent in January.

The statistics office said the cost of sweet potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, green pepper, fish, fresh milk, bread, margarine and refined oil rose in February.

The increases in prices of these food items is attributed to low supplies to the market, UBOS said in a statement.

In addition, prices for iron sheet, metallic suitcases, washing soap, petrol, diesel, paraffin and textile materials went up in most centres, it said.

The core inflation rate, which excludes food crops, fuel, electricity and metered water, fell to 5.4 percent in February from 5.6 percent a month earlier.

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