Monthly inflation goes up

Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
THE country’s month-on-month inflation rate stood at 26,59 percent in March, gaining 13,07 percentage points on the February rate of 13,52 percent, official data show.

The jump shows a continued increase in the prices of goods and services on the market. The volatility of the exchange rate has in the past been blamed for triggering price increases.

The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) revealed the latest monthly rate, including the year-on-year inflation rate, in a Twitter post yesterday.

“The month-on-month inflation rate in March was 26,59 percent gaining 13,07 percentage points on the February rate of 13,52 percent,” it said.

“The year-on-year inflation rate for the month of March 2020 as measured by all item Consumer Price Index stood at 676,39 percent.”

The previous report had shown year-on-year inflation at 540,16 percent.

The country resumed the publication of year-on-year inflation in February after deferring the publication of the results last August.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the suspension was to allow for the building of data on prices after the country reverted to a mono-currency.

This was not the first time that Government suspended the publication of year-on-year inflation as it did the same when it introduced the multicurrency system in February 2009. — @okazunga