A new blow to the purchasing power of Zimbabweans. The latest figures from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency showed Saturday that the country’s annual inflation rate reached 191% in June.
Zimbabwe's annual inflation surges to 191% in June
People queue for US dollars at banks early in the morning, with some having slept in line a day before Christmas, in Harare on December 24, 2021.
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The southern African nation already suffers from sanctions that have exacerbated the pre-existing economic crisis. A context that makes it increasingly difficult for the population to afford a living.
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Zimbabwe's inflation rate shot up from 66% to more than 130% in May. In two months, it increased again to verge on two hundred percent. The same month, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said the GVT would not hesitate to intervene to cushion against price increases and exchange rate volatility. Zimbabweans are still waiting for governmental measures.
In the meantime, the spectre of hyperinflation is looming over the country.
In 2008-2009 hyperinflation reached 500 billion%, according to the International Monetary Fund, and ravaged the country. At the time, 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar banknotes were not enough to buy basic groceries.