Zimbabwe’s annualised inflation leapt to 837.53 percent in July amid a weakening local currency that has seen a surge in prices of basic commodities and services in recent months.Official figures from the Zimbabwe Statistics Agency showed on Saturday that year-on-year inflation rose by more than 100 percentage points last month from 737.26 percent the previous month.

The increase came as the Zimbabwe dollar is on a free-fall due to an onslaught by a thriving foreign currency black market.

This has triggered an avalanche of price increases, with prices rising by 35.53 percent between June and July, according to ZIMSTAT.