PORT LOUIS: Mauritius' annual average inflation slid for the fourth straight month to 5.9 percent in March from 6.2 percent in February, the statistics office said on Friday.
Consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in March from a month earlier, driven by the prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks, housing and utilities and health services.
The Consumer Price Index rose to 132.3 from 127.4 in March 2011, leaving the year-on-year rate at 3.8 percent from 4.1 percent in February, according to Thomson Reuters calculations.
Mauritius trimmed official interest rates by 50 basis points to 4.9 percent last month, citing a rise in downside risks to the domestic growth outlook.
Food and non alcoholic drinks prices climbed 0.1 percent month-on-month, while health costs rose 0.5 percent and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels jumped 1.1 percent.
The cost of furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance bucked the trend, falling 0.3 percent on February's prices.