ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia's inflation rate slowed to 39.8 percent year-on-year in October from 40.1 percent a month before, thanks to slower price increases for non-food items, official data showed on Friday.

The rate of inflation for non-food items eased to 23.4 percent in October from 24.7 percent a month earlier, the statistics office said.

Food prices accelerated a touch, largely due to an increase in the cost of cereals, leaving the overall food inflation rate at 51.7 percent.

The consumer price index in the Horn of Africa country rose to 271.1, leaving month-on-month inflation at 1.9 percent, slower than the 2.6 percent increase in September.

Inflation has become a major problem across the east and Horn of Africa, as poor rains have damaged harvests while global oil prices have surged.

The International Monetary Fund, which expects Ethiopia's economy to grow 7.5 percent this year, says inflation is the country's main economic challenge.

Reuters