Blantyre - Malawi's annual inflation rate nudged up to 16,7 percent in January from 16,5 percent in December after prices for the food staple maize continued to climb, official figures showed on Monday.

Malawi aims to keep inflation below 10 percent during 2006 in line with a target set by the International Monetary Fund, which resumed lending to the country last year after a hiatus imposed when 2003/04 budget targets were exceeded.

"This (inflation increase) is mainly due to the continuous rise in the prices of cereals and cereal products," the National Statistical Office said in a statement.

Maize prices in Malawi, where three quarters of the population live on less than a dollar a day, doubled late last year after a prolonged drought. Food, dominated by maize, accounts for about 58 percent of the consumer price index.