Zimbabwe’s annualised inflation surged 23.7 percentage points to 96.4 percent in April on the back of an increase in the cost of basic commodities, the central bank said on Wednesday.
In a statement following its meeting held on April 29, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe expressed concern at “the recent uptick in month-on-month inflation from 7.7 percent in March to 15.5 percent in April 2022, and the increase in annual inflation from 72.7 percent in March to 96.4 percent in April 2022.”
“The increase in inflation was a result of a combination of global shocks and the pass-through effects of the recent exchange rate depreciation on the parallel market, with a significant proportion of the inflationary pressures emanating from the impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict,” the bank said.
Prices of most foodstuffs have gone up sharply since the end of March on the back of the sharp depreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar on a thriving black market where the local currency’s value has dropped from about 200 to the US dollar to 350 to the American greenback at present.
Due to a shortage of foreign currency on the official market, most Zimbabwean firms have for years relied on the unofficial parallel market to funds to import raw materials, a development that has fuelled inflationary pressures in the country.
The government has during the past few weeks threatened to introduce new measures to protect the local currency against speculative behaviours.
JN/APA