Zimbabwe Consumer Prices Up 1% in July - Second Straight Monthly Rise

Zimbabwe Consumer Prices Up 1% in July - Second Straight Monthly Rise
By Jonga Kandemiiri Washington
20 August 2009
Consumer prices in Zimbabwe rose 1% from June to July after picking up by 0.6% in June from May levels, the country's Central Statistical Office said Thursday.
July's 1% monthly inflation rate would amount to 12% annual inflation if it continued for the next 11 months - but from January through July, prices eased a cumulative 8.9% as the adoption of a mixed hard-currency regimen quelled hyperinflation and boosted imports.
The Statistical Office said the main price drivers in July were fuel and transport fares.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by just 0.23% month-over-month, compared with a June decline of 1.26%.
Economist Luxon Zembe told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that July's 1% pickup was troubling because after months of disinflation prices more recently have been rising.