Online Reporter
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
Senior Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S economy has remained on a firm growth path in the first quarter of 2026, demonstrating resilience amid global geopolitical tensions, with authorities ready to cushion key sectors from external shocks.
The ongoing Middle East conflict has ushered in significant cost pressures globally, including higher prices for energy and agricultural inputs, FBC Securities said in its first-quarter review. However, Zimbabwe’s policy framework and reform momentum continued to anchor stability.
“The conflict has transmitted through several channels. Brent crude’s surge from the low US$70s to over US$110 has raised transport costs, electricity generation costs, and production costs for all sectors,” the securities firm said.
Despite this, the firm noted that the domestic economy has absorbed the initial shocks in an orderly manner, supported by prudent fiscal and monetary management.
The Middle East crisis has negatively affected about 40 per cent of Zimbabwe’s petroleum imports. While fuel prices have adjusted in line with global trends, the impact has been managed within broader stabilisation efforts.
The assessment tallies with assertions by Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu, who has said the prices of most basic commodities in Zimbabwe have remained relatively stable despite cost pressures from surging energy prices triggered by the ongoing Middle East crisis.
Speaking at a dialogue on geopolitical risks hosted by a regional economic think tank, Africa Economic Development Strategies (AEDS), at the Rainbow Towers on 9 April, Minister Ndlovu noted that most businesses had absorbed the rising costs and not passed them on to consumers, including those in logistics-heavy sectors.
He highlighted that the Government’s monitoring of a 14-product “basic basket” shows minimal price movement across the board.
