Impact of Changes in Fuel Prices on Inflation and Economic Growth in Mozambique

Abstract

The fuel oil is a basic input to production, so an increase in oil price leads to a rise in production costs that induces firms to lower output. In parallel, oil prices change also effects, indirectly, the consumption, through its positive relation with disposable income. However, despite the relevance of the variation in fuel prices in economy, there are no recent study conducted to analyse the impact of changes in fuel prices on GDP and CPI in Mozambique. This study aims to contribute to filling the information gap by providing the quantification of the impact of fuel prices on GDP and CPI. So, the study aim to determine the impact of changes in FUEL prices on Inflation (Consumer Price Index – CPI) and Economic Growth (Gross Domestic Product – GDP), using quarter data from 2007 to 2020. Descriptive statistics, Unit Root Test, Johansen Cointegration Test and Error Correction Model, Granger Causality Econometric Models, Impulse and Response Function and Variance Decomposition Analysis are used. The results indicate that in Mozambique there are a cointegrating long-run relationship between FUEL prices and CPI and GDP, which suggest that the impact of FUEL prices shocks to CPI and GDP in short-run and long-run path. Also, the results show that changes in GDP and FUEL prices lead to an increase in CPI by 3.0% and 1.3%, respectively, <i>coeteris paribus</i>. The previous quarter’s errors (or deviation from long-run equilibrium) are corrected for with the current quarter at a convergence speed of 3.5% to GDP, and 4.8% to CPI. Granger causality tests also indicate causality between CPI and GDP, and the changes in GDP causes changes in other variables.