daniel chigunwe
Business Writer
The country’s annual inflation paced to 72,7 percent in March 2022, up from 66,1 percent in February 2022, latest figures from ZIMSTAT show.
March’s month-on-month inflation, however, decelerated to 6.3 percent, shedding 0.7 percentage points on the February 2022 rate of 7 percent.
The month-on-month Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages inflation rate stood at 6.0 percent in March 2022, shedding 2.2 percentage points on the February 2022 rate of 8.2 percent.
The month-on-month non-food inflation rate stood at 6.5 percent, gaining 0.5 percentage points on the February 2022 rate of 6.0 percent.
According to Zimstat, prices increased at a much faster pace in Mashonaland East where month-on-month inflation stood at 7,8 percent while Mashonaland Central recorded the lowest rate of price increases with month-on-month inflation at 3 percent.
Harare’s month-on-month inflation was above average at 7,6 percent gaining 0.3 percentage points on the February 2022 rate of 7.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the month-on-month blended inflation rate in March 2022 was 2.7 percent shedding 0.4 percentage points on the February 2022 rate of 3.1 percent.
The year-on-year inflation rate (annual percentage change) for the month of March 2022 as measured by all items blended Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 29.8 percent.
The Food Poverty Line for one person in March 2022 was $7 062.
The Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) for one person stood at $9 708 in March 2022. Matebeleland South remains the cheapest province to live in with its TCPL at $8,343.20 while Mashonaland Central remains the most expensive with its TCPL at $10,758.67.
Bongani Ndlovu