Cape Town - Inflation in Zimbabwe hits a new record high in June, surging to a whopping 191%.
According to local media reports, the latest figures from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency showed Saturday that the country’s annual inflation rate reached 191% in June.
The southern African nation already suffers from sanctions that have exacerbated the pre-existing economic crisis, writes Africanews.
As of June 20, the price of fuel per litre in the country hit the ZWD539.560 mark per litre, according to Global Petrol Prices.com.
Just in...June CPI Statistics now out! @paidahmoyo @RolandChiringa @InfoMinZW @mimi201618 @HeraldZimbabwe @ChronicleZim @NewZiana @ZBCNewsonline @FingazLive @EquityLive @FinxZim @DailyNewsZim @NewZiana @ZTNPrime @NewsDayZimbabwe @ZiFMNews pic.twitter.com/bGTkVNcco4
— Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency - ZIMSTAT (@zimstat) June 25, 2022
According to the data released by analytics company Global Petrol Prices, South Africa ranks 65th, with the most expensive petrol prices per litre.
But data made available by Global Petrol Prices earlier this year, cited Zimbabwe as the country with the highest petrol cost on the continent.
According to ZimLive.com, Zimbabwe’s central bank said last week that the price of bread would go down after it held talks with an association of bakers.
Governor John Mangudya said bakers had complained over a lack of access to foreign currency to import wheat and procure fuel for deliveries, the local news outlet reported.
Bakers recently raised the price of bread from US$1 to an average $1.20 in response to rising fuel prices, disruptions to global wheat supply chains caused by the Ukraine war and lack of access to foreign currency to fund imports.
The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) in April also increased the prices of maize and wheat by 50% and 17,8%, respectively.
Analysts say that the rising price of fuel has directly impacted the price of bread in the southern Africa country that has been battling rapidly growing inflation, leaving the poor worst affected.
The Zimbabwean Independent reports that the country will require to import 155 000 tonnes of wheat to mitigate the variance between local production and national demand.
In 2008-2009, hyperinflation reached 500 billion%, according to the International Monetary Fund. At the time, 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar banknotes were not enough to buy basic groceries, writes Africanews.
IOL