Zimbabwe inflation at 231 million percent
November 23, 2008
By Bloomberg
Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world, estimated at 231 million percent, spawned by a decade of economic recession that has resulted in severe shortages of food, fuel and other basics.
The Zimbabwe dollar traded at 37.879 to the dollar on the interbank market on Thursday. On the black market, the exchange rate is Z$300 000 against the US currency. The Old Mutual implied rate, used as a guide by businesses, valued it at Z$12.6 quadrillion to the greenback on Friday
Some residents invested in shares to avoid their money losing value, said John Legat at Imara Holdings, resulting in some stocks on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange rising up to 100 000 percent in a day
Central bank governor Gideon Gono on Friday barred First Banking from trading shares after its broking unit allegedly used fraudulent customer cheques to buy stock for them. Gono warned traders about "creating false wealth".
First Banking's shareholders include senior officials from the ruling Zanu-PF, ZimOnline, a Johannesburg-based news agency, said on its website, without saying where it had obtained the information.
Nathan Shamuyarira, a spokesperson for Zanu-PF, did not answer his cellphone when called on Friday for comment.
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