MONTHLY inflation declined to 0,7% in January 2023 shedding 0,6 percentage points in a development which comes on the back of economic reforms aimed at easing inflationary pressures, Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) latest data has revealed.
This comes at a time when authorities are implementing policy measures aimed at curbing inflationary pressures singled out as the stumbling block of economic stability in the recent past.
Measures such as the clearance of backlogs on the Foreign Exchange Auction, introduction of gold coins, mopping up excess liquidity in the market and strict monitoring of transactions are some of the strategies employed to date.
ZIMSTAT reported that inflation reduced significantly in the just ended month.
"The month-on-month inflation rate in January 2023 was 0,7% shedding 0,6% on the December 2022 rate of 1,3% meaning that prices as measured by the all items blended CPI increased by an average of 0,7% from December 2022 to January 2023," said Zimstat.
The month-on-month Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages inflation rate stood at 0,4% in January 2023, shedding 1,7% on the December 2022 rate of 2,1%.
Non-food inflation rate stood at 1%, gaining 0,4% on the December 2022 rate of 0,6%.
The blended CPI for the month ending January 2023 stood at 278.12 compared to 276.10 in December 2022 and 138.02 in January 2022.
"The year-on-year inflation rate for the month of January 2023 as measured by the all items blended Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 101,5%. This means that prices as measured by the all items blended CPI increased by an average of 101.5 percent between January 2022 and January 2023," added Zimstat.
The food poverty line (FPL) as at January 2023 stood at $22,384.78 implying that the minimum needs basket cost that much per person in January 2023 which represents an increase of 0,9% over the December 2022 figure of $22,192.87
The Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) for Zimbabwe stood at $29,499.89 per person in January 2023. This means that an individual required that much to purchase both non-food and food items as at January 2023 in order not to be deemed poor.
This represents an increase of 1.0 percent when compared to the December 2022 figure of $29,219.01.