By Own Correspondent

THE challenges facing the country’s working class continues to worsen on the back of revelations that the Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) has hit ZiG632 per person monthly – and is likely to worsen in real terms considering the adverse impact of exchange rates depreciation.

According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) latest data the Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) which captures all the expenses required for an individual to meet survival needs in June 2024 was ZiG 623.40.

The Food Poverty Line (FPL) which represents the amount of money that an individual requires to afford a daily minimum energy intake of 2,100 calories stood at ZiG 399.83.

“The US$ inflation rate for the period of June 2024 stood at -0.3%, shedding 0.4 percentage points on the May 2024 rate of 0.1%. The year-on-year inflation rate for the month of June 2024, as measured by the all-items USD Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 3.8%,” the agency said.

The Zimbabwe Gold currency (ZiG) has further knocked down monthly inflation to -0,2 % in June sustaining a straight record of easing inflation pressures, the Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (Zimstat) reported Friday.

Introduced on April 5 2024, the ZiG is the sixth currency to be introduced in 15 years in yet another attempt to ease run-away inflation. The new currency is backed by gold, and other precious minerals, and circulates alongside other foreign currencies.

Since the local unit’s inception, the month-on-month inflation rate was -0.6 percent in May 2024. This means that prices as measured by all items Weighted CPI, decreased by an average of 0.6% between April 2024 and May 2024.

Data published by Zimstat  shows the downward trend witnessed since the local unit’s inception continues to knock down inflation.

“The month-on-month inflation rate for June 2024, was -0.2%, gaining 0.4 percentage points on the May 2024 rate of -0.6%. The month-on-month inflation rate for June 2024 was 0.0%. This means that prices, as measured by the all-items ZiG CPI, remained constant on average between May 2024 and June 2024,” the agency said.

An analysis of last month’s inflation trends for the ZiG currency alone also confirms a positive downward trend with prices reducing significantly by an average of 2. 4% between April 2024 and May 2024.