Zimbabwe inflation down, but still world's highest
Zimbabwe’s official inflation rate dropped to 149.3% last month, down from 209% in October, the state Central Statistical Office said today.
The new rate still leaves Zimbabwe with the highest inflation in the world.
The troubled southern African country is in the midst of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980, with inflation peaking at over 600% last year.
The Reserve Bank attributes the current drop to tighter fiscal policies aimed at reining in rampant profiteering and a lucrative black market in scarce commodities and hard currency.
However, the official inflation rate excludes prices on a wide range of services and imports that have continued to soar throughout the year.
The cost of medicines, vehicle repairs, and health, agriculture and mining equipment has risen by more than 600%. The state telephone and postal company have increased their fees by 1,000%.
The agriculture-based economy has collapsed in the four years since the government began seizing thousands of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to black Zimbabweans.
The country routinely faces acute shortages of food, gasoline, hard currency and other imports.
