Zimbabwe inflation 'highest ever' at 231 million per cent
Thursday, 09 Oct 2008 13:26
Zimbabwe's annual inflation stood at 231 million per cent earlier this summer, Robert Mugabe admits
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Zimbabwe's annual inflation accelerated to 231 million per cent in July, to set a new world record.
Data released on Thursday by the country's state-run central statistical office (CSO) showed that the July inflation figure had multiplied up from 11 million per cent in June.
The government CSO data showed that on a monthly basis, prices shot up by 2,600 per cent, compared with 839 per cent in June, largely driven by high prices of bread and cereals.
President Robert Mugabe has made the battle against inflation the cornerstone of his government's effort to reverse an economic slide that many critics blame on mismanagement and his controversial policies, including seizures of white-owned farms.
Early this year, Mr Mugabe's government withheld inflation figures, in a move observers said was meant to shield the administration from embarrassment for its failure to stem runaway inflation, which has come to symbolise the country's unprecedented economic meltdown.
Inflation is the most visible sign of Zimbabwe's deep economic recession that has left more than 80 per cent of the labour force without jobs and triggered shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency.
Analysts have said a power-sharing deal is the first key step in reversing Zimbabwe's economic recession that has impoverished the population.
Implementation of a power-sharing deal signed on September 15th with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has however been stalled by disagreements over the allocation of cabinet portfolios.