The Reserve Bank in its latest economic review says inflation turned positive in August, mainly underpinned by higher prices for food and fuel.

Food prices rose by 6.9 percent, while the upswing in global energy prices underlined the 36.5 percent average growth in domestic fuel prices compared to the same period last year.

Consequently, year-end inflation is forecast to increase to two percent after hovering in negative territory for most of the last twenty months.

Fiji’s foreign reserves remain at comfortable levels at around

$3.2b – sufficient to cover 11 months of retained imports.

RBF Governor, Ariff Ali says financial conditions remain accommodative, with liquidity levels at $1,629.6 million as at Wednesday.

Ali says commercial banks’ lending rates and cost of funds have broadly declined since the beginning of the year.