Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya has said inflation has stabilised as 70% of all transactions are in US dollars, reported NewsDay.
Addressing delegates at the release of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) 2022 Manufacturing Sector Survey last Thursday, Mangudya, however, acknowledged that there has been a widening between the official forex rate and the parallel market rate. He said:
We have seen the parallel forex market widening over the past three weeks and we have an idea of what is causing it.
Our job is to make sure that we rein in that disparity between the official exchange rate and parallel market (one) and, of course, the effects to make sure it doesn’t go into the private system.
But on inflation, we are happy that it has been going down from about 30%, month-on-month in July 2022, to 0.7% in January, month-on-month, -1,6% in February, and 0,1% in March this year.
Inflation, Hon minister (Industry and Commerce Minister Sekai Nzenza) and colleagues is — if you are in hyperinflation you will feel it. You don’t see it on paper. Inflation is felt.
If you don’t feel inflation — never worry about people and statistics and don’t worry about historical issues, worry about month-on-month inflation.
According to Zimstat, the annual inflation for March was 87.6%, down from 92.3% in February, while the month-on-month inflation was 0.1% last month from -1.6% in the comparative prior period.
The statistics were based on the new blended calculation measured using a weighted average of items priced in Zimbabwean dollars and United States dollars.
Before the new “blended rate”, inflation was being measured using the local currency only.
A fall in inflation does not mean prices are decreasing. Rather, it reflects the slow pace of price increases.
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