Nation maintains steady inflation as ZiG, USD rates show modest gains

Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers president, Dr Denford Mutashu, said the upgraded ZiG presents an opportunity for businesses and consumers alike to embrace a more efficient and dignified mode of transacting anchored on a strong national currency.

Rutendo Nyeve, [email protected]
THE inflation landscape remained broadly stable in May 2026, with both the local currency ZiG and United States dollar inflation metrics showing controlled increases, according to data released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) on Tuesday.
The ZiG Consumer Price Index stood at 195.61 in May 2026, up from 194.68 in April and 187.42 in May 2025, ZimStat reported.
The ZiG month-on-month inflation rate eased to 0.5 percent in May, shedding 0.6 percentage points from April’s rate of 1.1 percent.
This means prices, as measured by the all-items ZiG Consumer Price Index (CPI), increased by an average rate of 0.5 percent between April and May 2026.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation moderated significantly, falling 0.7 percentage points to 0.8 percent in May from 1.5 percent in April.
Non-food inflation also improved, shedding 0.6 percentage points to 0.3 percent.
The year-on-year inflation rate for May 2026 stood at 4.4 percent, shedding 0.4 percentage points from April’s 4.8 percent.
This indicates that prices increased by an average of 4.4 percent between May 2025 and May 2026.
The United States dollar Consumer Price Index, measured on a June 2022 baseline of 100, reached 125.19 in May 2026, compared to 124.76 in April and 121.76 in May 2025.
USD month-on-month inflation was 0.3 percent in May, shedding 0.8 percentage points from April’s 1.1 percent.
Notably, USD food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation remained steady at 0.8 percent, unchanged from April, while non-food inflation shed 1.1 percentage points to 0.1 percent.
The USD year-on-year inflation rate gained 0.6 percentage points to reach 2.8 percent in May, up from 2.2 percent in April.
ZimStat highlighted that the mean ZiG month-on-month inflation rate for January to May 2026 was 0.4 percent, a significant improvement from the 1.2 percent average recorded between January and December 2025.
Similarly, the mean USD month-on-month inflation rate for the first five months of 2026 was 0.3 percent, compared with 1.0 percent for the full year 2025.
Price data was collected between 12 and 18 May 2026, and ZimStat noted that the changes in prices in the report refer specifically to that collection period.
“Prices as measured by the all-items ZiG CPI increased by an average rate of 0.5 percent from April 2026 to May 2026,” said ZimStat.
The statistics agency said it continues to monitor both currency-based inflation metrics, providing policymakers and the public with comprehensive price stability data.