(Bloomberg) --

Zimbabwe’s central bank has revised its year-end inflation outlook for a third time, to as high as 53%, the Sunday Mail reported, citing John Mangudya, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. 

“Annual inflation is likely to end the year between 35% and 53%, up from the revised targets of between 25% and 35%,” Mangudya was quoted by the Harare-based weekly newspaper. The bank’s initial annual inflation forecast for year-end was under 15%. 

A rise in global commodity prices, a planned increase in power tariffs and a weakening of the local currency against the U.S. dollar on the black market were cited inflationary factors. Annual inflation rose in September to 51.55%, the first increase in eight months.   

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