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Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
THE country’s month-on-month inflation rate rose by 1,14 percentage points last month to 5,52 percent from 4,38 percent in March, figures from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) show.
In its report released yesterday, Zimstat said this means that prices as measured by the all items Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by an average rate of 5,52 percent from March 2019 to April 2019.
“This means that prices as measured by the all items CPI increased by an average rate of 5,52 percent from March 2019 to April 2019,” it said.
The agency said the month-on-month food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation rate stood at 7,85 percent in April 2019, gaining 2,75 percentage points on the March 2019 rate of 5,10 percent.
The month-on-month non-food inflation rate gained 0,40 percentage points last month to close at 4,45 percent from the March 2019 rate of 4,05 percent.
The rise in inflation has largely been attributed to the disparities in exchange rate between the US$ and the RTGS$ where businesses are charging premium prices due to uncertainty.
It has been noted that the uncertainty was stemming from the market, which believes in the US dollar as the only currency that will protect their assets and be able to conduct meaningful transactions.
To stabilise the foreign exchange rate in the market, economic commentators have urged the Government to mobilise as much lines of credit as possible so as to improve the existing forex reserves in the country.
Economic commentators have also advised on the need to speed up industrial revival efforts to restore adequate domestic consumption that will ease pressure on foreign currency requirements and stabilise the economy.
Of late, the demand for foreign currency has been high due to subdued capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector with much of the hard currency required to import goods and services from around the world.
— @okazunga.
Online Reporter