HARARE - Consumer prices are on the rise again. The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe reported an 8 per cent rise in April for the cost of a basket of key goods.The monthly surge was led by a 28 per cent rise in rents, the Consumer Council said.
An urban family of six now needs US$427 a month to get by – but civil
servants and many private sector employees are earning just US$100 a
month, if even that.
Economist Nyasha Muchichwa of the Labour and Economic Development Research
Institute of Zimbabwe said costs had risen in part due to a tightening in imports from neighbouring South Africa.
Though the rate of inflation at 8 per cent is modest compared with the
astronomical increases in prices in the past, it is a cause for concern
given the limited purchasing power of average Zimbabweans.
In addition, Zimbabwe’s Central Statistical Office recently reported
price decreases. In general prices eased about 3 per cent in each of
the past few months, the CSO said.