Business Reporter
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has implored economic agents to ignore annual ZWG inflation rates due to the fact that such stats have no bearing on pricing dynamics.
The remarks come on the back of inflation statistics by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) that annual inflation surged to 92, 1% in the month of September 2025.
The developments recently triggered an outcry from industry which blamed the September 2024 43% local currency devaluation directive for pushing up the inflationary pressures. The business community also contends the high ZWG annual inflation rates poses challenges for businesses, particularly due to its impact on interest rates.
But in a statement Wednesday, the RBZ governor, Dr John Mushayavanhu said the transition from the ZW$ to ZWG denominated prices inevitably created a statistical gap in the calculation of annual inflation figures.This resulted in Zimstat computing and publishing yearly inflation in April 2015 after obtaining a full year of ZWG prices.
The RBZ therefore advised the public that the recorded rise in year on year ZWG inflation in April and May 2025 is primarily due to the base effect emanating from the once-off spike in monthly inflation from 5,8% in September 2024 to 37,2% in October 2024.
“The current trend in annual inflation is expected to continue up to September 2025 and decline thereafter to align with the current low and stable monthly inflation. The current annual inflation will therefore not affect consumer purchasing power and value preservation, as inflation impact has already been realized,” said Mushayavanhu.
The central bank exchequer said going forward the economy is projected to decline to 30% by 31 December 2025 and to further decline towards single digit levels in the outlook period.
“Considering the current pricing circumstances where annual ZiG inflation is not reflective of the current pricing dynamics, the RBZ encourages economic agents to focus on month on month inflation, which has a more direct link to current ZWG purchasing power expectations.
“The monthly ZWG inflation will remain low and stable as Monetary Policy remains appropriately tight to balance price stability and economic growth,” added Mushayavanhu.
