KHARTOUM, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The inflation rate in Sudan continued to rise by 54.34 percent in February, the highest level ever recorded, said a statement issued Thursday by Sudan Central Statistics Bureau.
The inflation rate had jumped by 52.37 percent in January compared with the 25.15 percent of last December, it said.
The bureau attributed the surge to the hike in food prices by 52.86 percent, adding that increases were also seen in prices of meat, bread, cooking oil, coffee, milk, eggs and so on.
Sudan is faced with a dire economic crisis since the secession of South Sudan in 2011 due to which Sudan lost 75 percent of its oil revenues.
The U.S. decision to lift economic embargo on Sudan on last Oct. 6 has little help in saving the country's ailing economy and the declining rate of the Sudanese pound.
On Dec. 19 last year, the Sudanese Cabinet had approved the budget for 2018, which contained new measures for cutting government spending, stopping construction of government buildings, and barring payment of any incentives or rewards without a prior approval from the Ministry of Finance.
The budget aims to stimulate the country's GDP growth by 4 percent and bring inflation down to 19.5 percent.
