HARARE – Zimbabwe’s official statistics show a welcome cooling in both ZiG- and US dollar-denominated inflation, signalling tentative progress toward price stability as the year draws to a close. According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT), annual inflation in ZiG terms decelerated to 82.7 percent in September, down from 93.8 percent in August and 95.8 percent in July. On a month-to-month basis, ZiG inflation slipped into negative territory at -0.2 percent, a 0.6-percentage-point improvement from August’s 0.4 percent rise. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said it remains optimistic that annual ZiG inflation could fall to around 20 percent by December, supported by tight monetary policy, improved foreign-currency liquidity, and more disciplined fiscal spending. In hard-currency terms, US-dollar inflation also softened to 13.4 percent year-on-year, offering relief to businesses that trade or import in foreign currency.