(Bloomberg) -- Zambian inflation quickened for the first time in four months in September.
Consumer prices rose 15.7% from a year earlier, compared with 15.5% in August, Mulenga Musepa, the interim statistician general at the Zambia Statistics Agency, told reporters Thursday in Lusaka, the capital. Costs increased 1.4% in the month.
The increase in the headline rate was due to non-food items, such as vehicles, furniture and housing, Musepa said. Annual food inflation slowed 14% in September from 15.5% a month earlier. Price growth has been above the central bank's target band of 6% to 8% for more than a year and may accelerate following the continued depreciation of Zambia's currency.
For the year to date, the kwacha is worst performer on the continent, having lost more than 29%. In addition to fueling inflation, it's driven up external debt-servicing costs, raising risk of a default.
Read more: Zambia's Call for Debt Relief Triggers Africa Default Fears
Zambia this week became the first African country to ask bondholders for relief since the onset of the coronavirus. The government is seeking to defer interest payments on its $3 billion worth of Eurobonds until April as it battles the economic contraction and liquidity squeeze caused by the pandemic.
Gross domestic product contracted an estimated 2.1% in the second quarter, following a decline of 0.3% in the three months through March, Musepa said.
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