Zim annual inflation rate declines to 92,3% basing on newly introduced calculation formula devised by government

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ANNUAL inflation rate significantly declined to 92,3% for the period February 2023 on the back of robust measures to stabilise the economy as well as the newly introduced inflation rate calculation formula, Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT)said on Friday.

The new calculation formula announced by Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube under Statutory Instrument 27/2023, states that the “rate of inflation” going forward refers to the general increase in price levels of goods and services measured as a weighted average based on the use of Zim$ and US$ over a given period of time.

The rationale behind the new policy directive is to attain a realistic position which is in sync with lived experiences.

The latest decline also comes on the back of a raft of policy measures implemented lately aimed at easing inflation pressures which include introduction of gold coins, mopping up of excess liquidity, targeted interest rates to contain speculative borrowing among other measures.

Accordingly, the statistics agency said month-on-month inflation for the month was -1,6% shedding 2,3% on the January 2023 rate of 07 per cent, presented in the index of the relevant month compared with the index of the previous month.

“The year-on-year inflation rate (annual percentage change) for the month of February 2023 as measured by all items Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 92,3%.

“The year-on-year inflation rate is computed in accordance with SI 27 of 2023 The year-on-year inflation rate is given by the percentage change in the index of the relevant month of the current year compared with the index of the same month in the previous year,” said ZIMSTAT data.

The food poverty line (FPL) represents the amount of money that an individual requires to afford daily minimum energy intake of 2 100 calories. The Food Poverty Line (FPL) for one person in February 2023 was ZWL$22,386.00.

For Poverty Lines, ZIMSTAT makes use of a consumer basket for the poor.

“The Total Consumption Poverty Line is derived by adding the non-food c consumption expenditures of poor household s to the FPL. The Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) for one person was ZWL$ 29 ,563 .0 0 in February 2023,” said ZIMSTAT.