Zimbabwe's ZiG inflation fell to 15% in 2025, tests durability

Single-digit inflation is back on the scoreboard, and a country burned by 2008 is squinting hard to see if this calm is real or just a breather.

Hyperinflation scars still linger

• Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe logged 231 million percent in July 2008.
• Alternative estimates later pegged November 2008 at 79.6 billion percent monthly.
• Prices once shifted between sunrise and sunset.
• Savings vaporized before payday even arrived.

Current inflation snapshot

• Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe reported 15 percent ZiG inflation by December 2025.
• Treasury put January 2026 ZiG inflation near 4.1 percent.
• US dollar inflation hovered around 1 percent.
• Month-on-month increases averaged 0.4 percent in 2025.

Policy discipline and zero borrowing

• RBZ kept the policy rate at 35 percent.
• Authorities confirmed zero central bank lending to the government.
• ZiG deposits reached ZiG31.9 billion by year's end.
• Officials aim for positive real interest rates.

Exchange rate convergence

• Interbank rate averaged ZiG26 per US dollar in 2025.
• Parallel premium shrank to about 20 percent.
• Black market rate eased toward ZiG31 per dollar.
• Ms. Miriam Dube noticed steadier pricing at Mbare Musika.

Reserves and credibility test

• Foreign currency reserves climbed to US$1.2 billion.
• Receipts rose to US$16.2 billion in 2025.
• Reserve cover equals about 1.5 months of imports.
• Trust Chikohora urged sticking to fiscal basics.