Zimbabwe recorded single-digit annual inflation in January for the first time since 1997, with consumer prices rising 4.1 percent, down sharply from 15 percent in December, Bloomberg reported.

The slowdown meets one of the central conditions set by the country’s monetary authorities for the eventual adoption of the gold-backed ZiG as Zimbabwe’s sole currency by 2030.

Introduced in April 2024, the ZiG, short for Zimbabwe Gold, was launched after years of currency instability, repeated monetary reforms and persistent inflation. It is the country’s sixth currency experiment since 2009, part of efforts to move away from reliance on the US dollar.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the inflation data marked a turning point. “This marks a historic moment for Zimbabwe,” he said in an emailed statement on Monday, noting that single-digit inflation had not been recorded in domestic currency for nearly three decades.

Beyond price stability, the central bank has outlined additional benchmarks that must be achieved before the ZiG can function as the only legal tender. These include building foreign reserves sufficient to cover three to six months of imports.

According to Ncube, foreign assets backing the ZiG increased to 1.2 billion US dollars by December, compared with 276 million US dollars in April 2024. He said the government would continue pursuing closely aligned monetary and fiscal policies aimed at maintaining price stability.