The Central Bank of Zimbabwe Friday unveiled new high- denomination bank notes (ZW$ 200 million and ZW$ 500 million), to grapple with soaring inflation.
The new bank notes were timed to coincide Friday with an increase in the weekly cash withdrawal limit to ZW$ 500 million, up from ZW$ 100 million.
At the last count in July, inflation was officially pegged at 231 million per cent, and is estimated now to have shot over the one billion per cent mark.
That has made most of the country’s small denomination bank notes worthless, prompting Friday’s introduction of higher-value notes.
Early this month, the Central Bank introduced new ZW$ 10 million, ZW$ 50 million and ZW$ 100 million bank notes, then the highest denominations notes in the country.
However, their values have already been eroded by inflation, with ZW$ 100 million only buying two loaves of bread, or enough just for a two-way commuter bus fare.
