The Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) announced that the country’s annual inflation slowed to 14.1% in October — its lowest level since August 2023 — as the sustained appreciation of the kwacha helped curb import costs.
According to Acting Statistician-General Sheila Mudenda, consumer prices rose 11.9% in October compared to 12.3% in the previous month.
Annual food inflation eased to 14.1% in October, down from 14.6% the month before. Non-food price growth also slowed to 8.7%, from 9% in September. Overall prices rose 0.4% month-on-month.
The currency of Africa’s second-largest copper producer has benefited from an improved fiscal outlook and rising copper prices, which account for more than 70% of the country’s exports. The kwacha has appreciated by 26% against the U.S. dollar this year, making it the second-best performing African currency among those tracked by Bloomberg.
The decline in inflation could prompt the central bank’s monetary policy committee to lower its benchmark interest rate on November 12, after keeping it unchanged at 14.5% for two consecutive meetings. Such a move would mark the first rate cut since August 2020. The Bank of Zambia projects that inflation will fall within its target range of 6% to 8% in the first quarter of next year, after remaining above that ceiling since May 2019.
Source: Bloomberg
