Zimbabwe's annual inflation hits 10-year high of 175.66%

Published On: July 15, 2019 02:50 PM NPT By: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: People queue to withdraw money from a bank in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo

JOHANNESBURG, July 15: Zimbabwe’s annual inflation almost doubled to a new 10-year high of 175.66% in June, official data showed on Monday, after a sharp rise in prices of basic goods and depreciation of the local currency.

The southern African nation last month made its RTGS currency the sole legal tender and renamed it the Zimbabwe dollar as part of reforms President Emmerson Mnangagwa hopes will revive a sickly economy.

The hope of Zimbabweans that the economy will quickly recover after Robert Mugabe was removed in an army coup in 2017 is turning to frustration amid shortages of U.S. dollars, fuel and bread, and rolling power cuts.

Inflation was 97.85 in May.

On a month-on-month basis, the central price index rose 39.26% compared to 12.54% in May, statistics agency ZIMSTATS said.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has said the monthly inflation rate should start to fall from October, but analysts say pressure on government wages and the currency will keep inflation high.