Morocco inflation rises to 0.5 pct in January

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's annual consumer price inflation rose to 0.5 percent in January from 0.4 percent in December because of increases in non-food prices, the high planning authority said on Thursday. Non-food price inflation rose at 1.1 percent from a year earlier, while the food index fell to 0.5 percent from 0.7 percent a year earlier. Communication prices fell 9.2 percent, while education costs rose by 3.5 percent, the agency, which issues Morocco's statistics, said without elaborating. On a monthly basis, consumer price inflation rose 0.3 percent from 0.1 percent last month. The food price index rose 0.5 percent, the non-food index was up 0.1 percent.