Fuel hike fails to affect Zambian annual inflation

An upward adjustment in Zambia's pump price of petroleum products last month has failed to have a dent in the country's annual rate of inflation, the country's statistics agency said on Thursday.
The Energy Regulation Board (ERB), the country's energy regulator, adjusted the pump price of petroleum products last month by between 7.22 percent and 9.54 percent, a move that many commentators condemned, saying it will have a negative bearing on many economic indicators including the annual inflation rate.
But according to figures released by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), the country did not record an increase in its annual rate of inflation as the rate remained unchanged from last month at 7.8 percent.
John Kalumbi, head of the statistics agency told journalists during a monthly press briefing that an analysis has shown that impact of the increase in petroleum prices on the inflation rate has been insignificant.
He said the increase in petroleum products only had a 0.1 percentage points effect on the inflation rate.
"Basically the increase (in petroleum products) had an insignificant effect on the overall inflation rate and this could be because the increase in the price of petroleum products was minimal," he added.