WINDHOEK, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's annual inflation rate in February dropped to 2.4 percent from 3.6 percent during the same period last year, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) Consumer Price Index bulletin released Thursday.

On a month-to-month basis, inflation remained flat at 0.0 percent, in contrast to the 0.8 percent increase recorded in January, the report said.

Despite a drop in the headline inflation figure, the NSA noted that core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, remained higher at 3.2 percent.

According to the NSA, the major contributors to the 2.4 percent annual rate were housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which contributed 1.2 percentage points.

These were followed by alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which contributed 0.5 percentage points, while food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 0.3 percentage points.

"Together, the aforesaid groupings made up 2 percent of the 2.4 percent annual inflation rate," the NSA said.

The agency said that the highest annual inflation rates among all divisions were recorded in hotels, cafes and restaurants (4.8 percent); housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (4.7 percent); health (4 percent); recreation and culture (3.9 percent); and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (3.5 percent). All other divisions recorded inflation rates below 3 percent. ■