By Derrick Silimina

As price pressures continue to ease, the annual inflation rate has marginally decelerated to 6.5% in June 2026, down from the 6.6% recorded in May, according to data released by the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats).

“This means that on average, prices of goods and services increased by 6.5 percent between June 2025 and June 2026. This development was attributed to price movements in both food and non- food items,” ZamStats Statistician General Sheila Mudenda said in a statement.

Mudenda noted that annual food inflation reduced to 6.7% from 6.9 % in May 2026, this incremental drop extends a multi-month cooling trend in consumer prices, positioning the inflation rate firmly within the Bank of Zambia’s ideal single-digit target band of 6% to 8%.

She outlined that this development was mainly attributed to price movements in prices of food items such as cereals (Breakfast Mealie meal, Roller mealie meal, Maize grain, Samp, Rice local, Wheat Plain Household Flour)); Fresh milk, Sugar, Cooking oil and Eggs.

In a meantime, the Statistician General further disclosed that the annual non-food inflation for June 2026 was recorded at 6.0% from 6.1% in May 2026.

“This outturn was mainly attributed to price movements in prices of non-food items such as Purchase of Motor Vehicles(Toyota hilux, Toyota Corolla Cross, Nissan Navara); Fuel (Petrol & Diesel), Passenger Transport by Air (Lusaka to London via Dubai) and Accommodation.”

Market analysts attribute the steady slowdown throughout the first half of 2026 to a more resilient Kwacha buoyed by stable global copper prices and a steady supply of agricultural commodities following the recent harvest season, which has helped cushion the domestic market against volatile global supply chains.