The central bank in Mozambique forecasts that the annual rate of consumer price inflation there will accelerate to between 6 percent and 7 percent this year from 3.91 percent last year, O País reports.

The Mozambican newspaper, citing central bank figures, says Mozambican net international reserves amounted to US$2.8 billion early last month, US$35 million less than at the end of last year.

The report says the central bank forecasts that the annual rate of growth in Mozambican gross domestic product will accelerate this year, driven by greater domestic demand and the dynamism of industry, but fails to say what rate of growth the central bank is forecasting.

In January the World Bank forecast that Mozambican GDP would grow by 3.5 percent this year, having grown by 3.3 percent last year.