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Shamiso Dzingire, Business Reporter
YEAR-on-year inflation rose marginally to 2,91 percent last month after gaining 0,20 percentage points from May, data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) shows.
Zimstat indicated that the figures mean that prices as measured by all items Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by an average of 2.91 percent between June 2017 and June 2018.
“The year-on-year inflation rate (annual percentage change) for the month of June 2018 as measured by the all items Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 2,91percent, gaining 0,20 percentage points on the May 2018 rate of 2,71 percent,” said the agency.
The year-on-year food and non alcoholic beverages inflation prone to transitory shocks stood at 5,12 percent while the non-food inflation rate was 1,88 percent.
Zimstat also indicated that month-on-month inflation in June was -0,05 percent, shedding 0,08 percentage points on the May rate of 0,03 percent.
“This means that prices as measured by the all items CPI decreased by an average rate of -0.05 percent from May 2018 to June 2018,” it said.
The agency also revealed that month-on-month food and non alcoholic beverages inflation rate stood at -0,23 percent in June 2018, shedding 0,25 percentage points on the May 2018 rate of 0,02 percent.
Economic analysts attributed the inflation rise to the continuous increased value of the United States dollar on the parallel market.
An economic commentator, Mr Trust Chikohora said: “In June, the US dollar rose to high levels . . . on the parallel market. So when there is an increase in the parallel market rate that becomes inflationary.”
He said the rise in inflation erodes people’s ordinary income.
Inflation is affecting ordinary people as their disposable income is eroded.
“Ordinary people just get their salary. The salary doesn’t change whether inflation rises or not. In some cases, salaries are actually being reduced so it means the money that someone had is now able to buy a bit less than what it used to,” said Mr Chikohora.
Despite gaining 0,20 percentage points to 2,91 percent, Zimbabwe inflation was still within Sadc’s benchmark, which averages between three and seven percent.
In May, the year-on-year inflation rate remained constant at 2,71 percent which economic analysts attributed to subdued consumer demand.
@ShamisoDzingire
Online Reporter