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Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S month-on-month inflation has decreased by 1,98 percentage points to 3,45 percent from 5,43 percent recorded in January, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) said.

Experts attribute the decline in February inflation to the prevailing Covid-19 lockdown measures, which have adversely affected disposable incomes resulting in slowdown in trading volumes.

The statistics agency also revealed that year-on-year inflation for the month of February stood at 321,59 percent from 362,6 as at end of 2020.

“The month-on-month inflation rate in February 2021 was 3,45 percent shedding 1,98 percentage points on the January 2021 rate of 5,43 percent,” it said.

“The year-on-year inflation rate for the month of February 2021 as measured by the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 321,59 percent.”

With the anticipated bumper harvest this year, monetary authorities expect inflationary pressures to remain subdued with a boost on incomes in the short to medium-term.

“One critical point that led to month-on-month inflation declining in February is to do with the lockdown. “As the country is currently under lockdown, you will find that consumers don’t have much disposable income to spend, thus demand for basic commodities declines,” said an economic analyst Mr Darlington Dlakama.

In his 2021 Monetary Policy Statement issued last week the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said it was targeting an annual inflation of 10 percent by the end of the year while maintaining the gains of financial stability achieved by the previous policy interventions.

It said stability has been brought about by the conservative monetary targeting framework that consists of the auction system, fiscal discipline and efficacy in the mobile banking system. – @okazunga.