(Reuters) – Sudan’s annual inflation rate eased to 12.58 percent in December from a revised 12.8 percent in November, a monthly report from Sudan’s Central Statistics Office said on Monday.

Prices soared in Sudan after South Sudan seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country’s oil output, the main source of foreign currency used to support the Sudanese pound and to pay for food and other imports.

As an oil importer, Sudan has benefited from the fall in global oil prices since last year.

Sudan expects a budget deficit of 1.6 percent of GDP for the coming year, up from 1.2 percent for 2015.

The government said last month it expected growth to increase in the coming year as lower oil prices reduce the burden of its oil import bill.

It projects a growth rate of 6.4 percent, up from an expected 5.3 percent for 2015.

(Reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz; Writing by Ola Noureldin; Editing by Toby Chopra)