Zimbabwe will from now on measure inflation using a weighted average of items priced in Zimbabwean dollars and U.S. dollars, the government said on Friday. Previously the official rate was based only on items in the local currency.
HARARE —
Using the new system of measuring, blended inflation for February stood at 92.3% year-on-year compared to 101.5% in January, the statistics agency said.
The U.S. dollar is widely used in the southern African country alongside the Zimbabwean dollar and South African rand.
The government relaunched the Zimbabwean dollar in 2019 after a decade of "dollarization," but in 2020 it authorized the use of foreign currencies as part of measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, it said the multi-currency system would be maintained for a further five years.