INFLATION
Figure 1; SOURCE: ZIMPRICECHECK
According to data from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the inflation rate for the month ending August 2022 was 12.38%. The inflation rate (annual percentage change) in August 2022 was 285.02%, up from 256.9% in July 2022, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) across all items. The CPI for the month ending August 2022 stood at 12,286.26 compared to 10,932.83 in July 2022 and 3,191.05 in August 2021. The inflation rate for food products for the month ending in August was 14.25 percent. The annual inflation rate in September 2022 is now 257%. The annual rate of inflation in September 2021 was 5% against 4.9% in the previous month in August 2021. The change in inflation rates for September 2021 and September 2022 is uneven.
FUEL PRICES
Table 1. Fuel prices as of 19 September 2022
| ITEM | ZWL$ | USD$ |
| PETROL BLEND(E10) | 892.35/ LITRE | 1.52/LITRE |
| DIESEL 50 | 1 014.I0/ LITRE | 1.74/LITRE |
| LIQUID PETROLEUM GAS | 1 078.09/ KG | 1.88/KG |
The fuel prices have been stable for the past weeks with Liquid Petroleum Gas decreasing from USD$2.02 to USD$1.88. The fuel prices as of September 2021 were pegged at US$1.34 for diesel and US$1.38 for petrol. The fuel prices for September 2022 are very high in comparison of the September 2021 fuel prices. Our assessment shows that the fuel prices for September 2022 have contributed to the decrease in prices of basic commodities. Looking ahead we anticipate seeing an increase in fuel prices again considering that Zimbabwe is a net importer of fuel and dynamics like transportation cost, storage costs as well taxation regimes usually affect the pricing of fuel.