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Zimbabwe inflation now 4,530 per cent, leaked figures show
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA)
June 17, 2007

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-1662_2131512,00.html

Harare - Independent press reports in crisis-hit Zimbabwe Sunday claimed the annual inflation rate had hit a record high of 4,530 per cent, but the authorities still refuse to make an official announcement.

Leaked figures from the official Central Statistical Office (CSO) showed the annual inflation rate jumped to 4,530 per cent in May from 3,713.9 per cent in April, the privately-owned Standard newspaper said.

The paper said the CSO would not explain why it had not yet released the figures, a week after they were due.

Zimbabwe's inflation figures are supposed to be announced on the 10th of each month, give or take a day for weekends.

'I will not announce when we will announce the figures,' CSO acting director Moffat Nyoni told the newspaper.

Zimbabwe's inflation has been on a relentless upward climb since the turn of the century, causing President Robert Mugabe's government intense embarrassment.

Critics blame the economic crisis on Mugabe's controversial policies, including his takeover of thousands of white-owned farms in the last seven years.

But Mugabe insists the crisis is a result of Western sanctions. Britain, the European Union, the United States and other Western nations have imposed travel bans and asset freezes on Mugabe and more than
100 members of Zimbabwe's ruling elite.

This is not the first time the release of inflation data has been inexplicably delayed, leading to accusations of attempted cover-ups by the government.

Month-on-month inflation slipped to 55.4 per cent in May, down from 100.7 per cent in April, the Standard reported.

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