HARARE: Year-on-year inflation for the first quarter of 2016 continued in the negative territory, exerting pressure on manufacturers to reduce consumer prices to stimulate demand. Statistics from the national statistical agency, Zimstat, show that year-on-year inflation for the month of March 2016 as measured by all items on the Consumer Price Index stood at -2,31%, shedding 0,09 percentage points on February 2016 rate of -2,22%.
This means that prices — as measured by the all-items CPI decreased by an average of -2,31 percentage points between March 2015 and March 2016. In February year-on-year inflation stood at -2,22%, while in January the figure was -2,19%, gaining 0,29 percentage points from the December 2015 rate of -2,47%. A Harare-based economist said industry would continue suffering because of negative inflation as the reduction in prices might not be sustainable.