Data from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) reveal that indicators of economic activity in the countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) recorded strong increases in the month of May 2021 compared to the same period of 2020, marked by the impact of the health crisis.

The trade turnover index increased by 21.1% (-20.7% in May 2020) over one year, in May 2021 against an increase of 21.8% in April 2021. Similarly, the index of turnover in market services increased by 18.7% during the period under review (against -5.0%), after an increase of 20.2% one month earlier. Regarding industrial production, BCEAO services indicate that the index increased by 11.9% at an annual rate, during the month under review (-7.4% in May 2020), against an increase of 15.6 % in April 2021. As for the inflation rate, the central bank underlines, on the basis of official data, that it stood at 3.3% at the end of May 2021 compared to the same period of the year past, after an achievement of 3.1% the previous month. The acceleration in the pace of price growth is mainly driven by the Food and Housing components.

According to the issuing institute, this strong performance is explained by “catch-up effects”. The rise in the Food component is linked to the rise in the price of fruit and vegetables, tubers and plantains as well as fish products in most countries. That of transport is linked to the increase in the cost of charcoal, particularly in Burkina, Côte d'Ivoire and Togo, as well as to the rise in the price of gas and kerosene in Burkina, in the wake of the rise in the price of crude oil.