Inflation for the month of May 2017 dropped marginally to 12.6 per cent as against the 13 per cent recorded in April 2017. This is the lowest inflation rate since December 2013. The monthly change rate in the May 2017 inflation was 0.7 per cent while that of April 2017 was 1.6 per cent. Inflation … Read more
Ramadan is a time for daytime fasting and lavish evening feasts, but Egyptians are scaling back preparations for the Muslim holy month this year after austerity measures fuelled decades-high inflation. At a Cairo supermarket, Rana, a web designer and mother of two, said she was buying less food in the runup to the start of … Read more
The 15 percent increment in transport fares by the GPRTU in April has pushed inflation up slightly to 13 percent from 12.8 percent in March, the Ghana Statistical Service has announced. “The rise in inflation rate from 12.8 in March to 13 percent in April 2017 was mainly due to the rise in inflation rate … Read more
The year-on-year inflation from the Producer Price Index (PPI) for all industry rose to 6.0 per cent in March 2017, from the 5.4 per cent recorded in February, citing higher petroleum and gold prices. The rate shows a 0.6 percentage point increase relative to the rate recorded in February 2017. The figure is down sharply … Read more
Zimbabwe prints its own version of the US dollar to ease cash shortages in the country The branch of my local bank in Harare had ran out of notes today, so they would only dispense $100 (£80) dollars in 50 cent coins, with cashiers painstakingly counting out the coins for every customer. The cash machines … Read more
How do you sustain a business when your country’s economy is collapsing all around you? For one shoe company in Zimbabwe, turning to exports was the answer. The Courteney Boot Company is best known for its safari boots, expertly handcrafted from the skins of game animals such as cape buffalo, ostrich, hippo and Nile crocodile. … Read more
Ghana’s Consumer Price Inflation continues to decline as it dropped further to 15.5 percent in November from the 15.8 percent record in October 2016, down by 0.3 percentage points. The monthly change rate for November stood at 0.8 percent compared with the 1.4 percent recorded for the month of October 2016. Data from the Ghana … Read more
Zimbabwe has launched its own money for the first time since the country’s dollar was abandoned seven years ago amid rampant inflation. The bond note, which is worth one US dollar – the country’s main currency since 2009 – is raising fears of a return to the ill-fated local dollar. The move, first announced in … Read more
Zimbabwean human rights lawyers asked the High Court on Tuesday to strike down a decree by President Robert Mugabe allowing the introduction of “bond notes”, which have raised fears of a return to a local currency. Mugabe used his presidential powers on Oct. 31 to amend the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act, designating bond notes … Read more
Inflation for the month of October 2016 has seen a sharp decline from the 17.2% recorded in September to 15.8%. The rate decreased by 1.4% from the 17.2% in September 2016. The monthly change rate for October 2016 was 1.4% while that for Septmeber 2016 was 0.2%. The consumer price index measures the change over … Read more
A prolonged shortage of the U.S. dollar, the dominant circulating currency in Zimbabwe, has worsened over the past two weeks as panicky clients queued up at banks to withdraw money, fearing that the greenback might be replaced by a new local currency soon. The long queues, seen daily at most bank branches in the city … Read more
Zimbabwe is so desperate for cash it has cut the retirement age for soldiers from 60 years to 50. Only those who fought in the 1970s liberation struggle are allowed to remain in service until 65. In another cost-cutting measure this week, Zimbabwe freed nearly all its female and juvenile prisoners as it cannot feed … Read more