Business Reporter
Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate rose slightly to 4.4% in March 2026, driven largely by global fuel price increases amid geopolitical tensions.
The ongoing US-Iran conflict has disrupted fuel supplies from the Middle East, leading to domestic fuel prices climbing to US$2.17 per litre.
According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat), the year-on-year inflation rate, measured by the all-items ZWG Consumer Price Index (CPI), increased by 0.6 percentage points from February’s 3.8%. This reflects an average price rise of 4.4% between March 2025 and March 2026.
Month-on-month inflation also rose, reaching 0.5% in March, up from 0.1% in February, indicating a modest short-term increase in prices.
For the US dollar, the year-on-year CPI inflation rate for March stood at 1.3%, up from 0.9% in February, while the month-on-month rate also rose to 0.5% from 0.1%.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Dr John Mushayavanhu stated that despite the fuel price increases, inflation is expected to remain in single digits for the remainder of the year. He projected that month-on-month inflation would gradually rise before easing from June 2026 onwards.
