HARARE – Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 191.6% in June, more than double the rise in consumer prices two months ago, official statistics showed on Saturday.
Inflation, which stood at 96.4% in April, soared to nearly 200% as cooking oil and bread prices soared following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Zimbabwe’s inflation rate hit 131.7% in May, rise attributed to war in Ukraine
- Zimbabwe introduces $100 bank note amid soaring inflation
In the month of May, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the government would intervene to cushion price rises and exchange rate fluctuations but nothing has been done since the statement was made.
The price spike brings back memories of hyperinflation more than a decade ago, when inflation got so out of control that the central bank issued a $100 trillion note in 2008, which today has become a collectible item.
The government then abandoned the local currency and adopted the US dollar and the South African rand as legal tender.
But in 2019, the government reintroduced the Zimbabwean dollar, which quickly depreciated.
