Zimbabwe’s annualised inflation rate quickened to 131.7 percent in May, fuelled by the sharp devaluation of the local currency over the past few weeks.
Latest data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency showed Thursday that the annual inflation leapt 35.3 percentage points from 96.4 percent the previous month.
Food inflation rose 150 percent year-on-year, reflecting the recent spike in the cost of basic commodities.
The latest increase in inflation comes in the wake of the rapid fall of the Zimbabwe dollar against the US greenback, which saw the local unit depreciating from around 120:1 on the official market at the beginning of April to around 296:1 currently.
The exchange rate has been on a freefall on a thriving black market where most businesses obtain their funds for importing raw material. The US dollar currently trades at between 400 and 500 to the local unit on the black market.
This has had the impact of pushing production costs upwards, triggering the recent spike in prices of goods and services.
JN/APA