Zimbabwe’s annual inflation jumped 80 percent to 10-year high of 175.66% for the month of June 2019 compared with 97.85% previously, latest numbers from the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency show.

“The year on year inflation rate (annual percentage change) for the month of June 2019 as measured by the all items Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 175.66 percent, while that of May 2019 rate was 97.85 percent.

“This means that prices as measured by the all items CPI increased by an average of 175.66 percent between June 2018 and June 2019,” said ZimStats today.

The jump in the year-on-year inflation rate was driven by a spike in prices over the past few weeks as retailers responded to the latest currency reforms in which Zimbabwe’s fiscal and monetary authorities moved to end the multicurrency system and introduced the ‘Zimbabwe dollar’ as the sole legal currency for local transactions through the promulgation of Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019.

ZimStats said the year-on-year Food and Non Alcoholic beverages inflation prone to transitory shocks stood at 251.94 percent while the Non-food inflation rate was 143.94 percent.

The CPI for the month ending June 2019 stood at 172.61 compared to 123.95 in May 2019 and 62.62 in June 2018.

The figures also show that month on month inflation rate in June 2019 was 39.26 percent gaining 26.72 percentage points on the May 2019 rate of 12.54 percent.

“This means that prices as measured by the all items CPI increased by an average rate of 39.26 percent from May 2019 to June 2019,” said ZimStats.

According to the latest statistics, the month on month Food and Non Alcoholic Beverages inflation rate stood at 55.07 percent in June 2019, gaining 37.44 percentage points on the May 2019 rate of 17.63 percent.

And the month on month non-food inflation rate stood at 31.23 percent, gaining 21.11 percentage points on the May 2019 rate of 10.12 percent.