Zambia's Inflation May Drop to Single Digits by June, Bank Says
2006-02-20 08:34 (New York)
By Kennedy Mambwe and Lukanyo Mnyanda
Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The rate of inflation in Zambia,
Africa's largest copper producer, will probably fall to single
figures after its currency gained and borrowers wrote off some of
the country's debt, central bank deputy governor Danny Kalyalya
said.
Zambia's inflation, which dropped to a four-year low of 12.2
percent last month, will likely reach single figures by June,
Kalyalya said yesterday in a televised interview.
``If the agriculture sector performs well and the Kwacha's
appreciation holds, we are likely to achieve a single inflation
digit,'' Buleti Nsemukila, the director of the Central Statistical
Office, said on the same program.
The comments on inflation reflect gains of 32 percent made by
the Zambian kwacha against the U.S. dollar over the last year. It
was trading at 3,205 to the dollar as of 11 a.m. Zambian time. The
currency gained after some of Zambia's debts were written off,
copper prices rose and the government cut spending.
Zambia, which borders Angola, Zimbabwe, Malawi and the
Democratic Republic of Congo, has a population of 10.4 million.
--Editor: Crawford. |
