Zimbabwe's inflation rate has risen to its highest level in six months as the local dollar continues its losing streak against the US dollar, marking the country's worst start to the year since reintroducing the currency in 2019.
Zimbabwe's National Bureau of Statistics said in an online briefing on Thursday that the annual inflation rate rose to 47.6% in February from 34.8% in the previous month. Consumer prices rose 5.4% in the same month, up from 6.6% in January.
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Accelerating annual inflation has increased pressure on authorities to announce new measures to support the collapsing local currency, which has lost nearly two-thirds of its value on official markets so far this year. .
President Emmerson Mnangagwa indicated on February 6, 2024 that fiscal and monetary authorities are working to revamp the Zimbabwean dollar. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube later said this could include backing the currency with gold.
Their plans caused the central bank to postpone issuing a monetary policy statement after its interest rate meeting in January. Zimbabwe has regained the title from Argentina and boasts the world's highest interest rates at 130%.
Zimbabwe has struggled to stabilize its currency since it resumed circulation, despite authorities taking several measures, including the introduction of gold coins and bullion-backed digital tokens known as ZiG. This regional unit was reintroduced ten years after it was abolished in favor of the US dollar, as hyperinflation rendered the US dollar virtually worthless.
© 2024 Bloomberg