• This is in view of the increased money supply in the economy which has been affecting inflation rate.
• It is expected that the inflation rate that will be a bit higher than the 10.2 percent recorded last month.
• Bank of Zambia has been implementing measures to reduce money supply in circulation as a way of controlling inflation.
An Economist has projected a 0.2 percent increase in inflation rate for the month of May 2023.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Shabdin Mweemba noted that this is in view of the increased money supply in the economy which has been affecting inflation rate.
Mr. Mweemba said it is therefore expected that the inflation rate that will be announced today will be a bit higher than the 10.2 percent recorded last month.
He added that this is why Bank of Zambia has been implementing measures such as raising the Monetary Policy Rate to 9.5 percent to reduce money supply in circulation as a way of controlling inflation.
“Recently Bank of Zambia increased the Monetary Policy Rate to 9.50 percent, so what it means is that they are trying to reduce money supply. We have noticed that the increased money supply in the economy has been affecting the inflation rate.”
“That is why bank of Zambia has been putting in place measures to mitigate the increasing inflation rate as a result of increasing Money Supply in the economy more especially recently in view of the 20 percent partial NAPSA withdrawal, that also is likely to push the rate upwards by maybe 0.2 percent,” Mr. Mweemba noted.
Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) is today expected to announce inflation rate for May 2023.
According to Bank of Zambia, inflation in 2023 and 2024 is projected to average 10.4 percent and 8.4 percent compared to 11.1 percent and 10.5 percent in the February 2023 forecast respectively.
