HARARE, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's month-on-month inflation rate soared to 15.7 percent in May, gaining 13.3 percentage points on the April rate of 2.4 percent, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) said Friday.
The sharp rise in monthly inflation comes against the backdrop of soaring prices of basic commodities amid local currency depreciation.
ZIMSTAT attributed the steep rise in inflation in May to higher food and health costs.
"The Consumer Price Index for food and non-alcoholic beverages had the highest month-on-month inflation rate of 25.9 percent followed by health at 14.8 percent," ZIMSTAT said.
According to the statistics agency, annual inflation for May stood at 86 percent, up from 75.2 percent the previous month.
Zimbabwe has witnessed a new wave of price increases for basic commodities in recent weeks and the government has blamed unscrupulous businesses who are indexing their pricing model on parallel market rates.
In an attempt to reduce the prices, the government recently scrapped duties and taxes on imported basic goods.
