‘Publish Zim$, US$ inflation’

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HARARE should publish Zimdollar, US dollar and rand inflation alongside figures based on the blended consumer price index (CPI).

This was the consensus among economic analysts that featured on The Financial Gazette’s executive dialogue on Tuesday.
The country’s statistics agency, ZimStat, switched to a blended CPI earlier this year, abandoning a Zim dollar CPI that had served as the official baseline since 2019.
The matric has, however, faced considerable opposition, with many saying it does not give a fair picture of the economy.
And while the government has dug in its heels on the matter, economics professor Gift Mugano said they should at least publish alternatives.
“Let’s have South African rand inflation, US dollar inflation, and Zimdollar inflation and if they want to see how these things are related, then they blend it.