Zimbabwe's annual rate of inflation has surged to Mbeki meets Mugabe, snubbed by Tsvangirai ...
Mbeki in Harare for crisis talks ...
Mugabe promises to "fight" to retain power ...
UN chief sending envoy to Zimbabwe ahead of presidential runoff ...
Zimbabwe to face presidential run-off vote ... 2,200,000%, official figures have shown.
The figure is the first official assessment of prices in the troubled African nation since February, when the rate of inflation stood at 165,000%.
Zimbabwe, once one of the richest countries in Africa, has descended into economic chaos largely blamed on the policies of President Robert Mugabe.
Mr Mugabe was re-elected last month in a controversial one-man race.
The opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), pulled out of the run-off election, saying its supporters were being attacked and killed.
Rising costs are forcing retailers to increase prices a number of times a day for goods purchased with billion dollar bank notes and the number of people falling into poverty is on the rise.
In May, the central bank issued a 500m Zimbabwe dollar banknote, worth US$2, to try to ease cash shortages amid the world's highest rate of inflation.
This is in stark contrast with the situation at independence in 1980 when one Zimbabwe dollar was worth more than US$1.
Mr Mugabe denies that he is ruining the economy, laying the blame on international sanctions he says have been imposed against Zimbabwe.
The US and the EU have imposed targeted sanctions, such as a travel ban and an assets freeze, on Mr Mugabe and his close allies.
(BBC)
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