Zimbabwe’s inflation rose to 785,55% on an annualised basis in May, from 765,57% the previous month, the Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (ZimStat) said yesterday, laying bare the challenge of a weakening local currency and rising prices.
BY Business Reporter
Month-on-month inflation dropped slightly to 15,13% from 17,64% during the same period, ZimStat said.
Since it was introduced as the sole legal tender in June last year, the Zimbabwe dollar has lost around 90% of its value against the United States dollar, leading to fears that it could follow a similar path to its predecessor, which the country abandoned in February 2009 after it was ravaged by hyperinflation.
Zimbabweans are having to contend with rising prices of basic commodities on a daily basis, while purchasing power continues to fall as wages fail to keep pace.