February annual inflation down to 92.3%

Zim Now Writer

Zimbabwe’s annual inflation for February is 92.3%, down from 101.5% in January but month-on-month inflation was in the negative at -1.6% down from 0.7%.

Zimbabwe is now using a weighted average based on the use of the local currency and the US dollar to calculate inflation given that 75% of the transactions in the country now in United States dollars.

Industry has expressed concern over the pace of dollarisation and has called for measures to promote the use of local currency.

Meanwhile, with the value of exports for January decreasing by 33.3 % after recording US$428.9 million from US$633.3 in December, against imports of US$599.7 million, falling 21.1 % from US$760.1 million in December 2022, the trade deficit is US$170.8 million, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency in its January 2023 External Trade Report.

Zimbabwe’s main imports are industrial equipment, contributing 32% of total exports, capital goods 22,2% as well as fuels and lubricants at 20.6%.

On the other hand, the country’s main exports are semi-manufactured gold 24.6%, nickel 16.8% and tobacco 12.4%.

The main destinations of Zimbabwe’s exports are South Africa (36%), China (15.3%) and Singapore (13.7%) while the major origins of the country’s imports are South Africa (42.6%) and the United Arab Emirates (29.9%).