Consumer prices in Zimbabwe rose 0.4 percent from July to August, the national statistics agency said on Wednesday, easing from a rate of 1.0 percent the month before.

Zimbabwe's inflation has declined dramatically from last year, when hyperinflation reached multiple of billions, after the government in January abandoned the worthless local currency.

Inflation is now calculated in US dollars, which along with South African rands is the most widely used currency in Zimbabwe.

"The month on month inflation rate... in August 2009 was 0.4 percent, shedding 0.6 percentage points on the July 2009 rate of 1.0 percent," the Central Statistics Office said.

Food prices rose nominally by 0.05 percent in August, against 0.23 percent of July. Non-food inflation stood at 0.52 percent, against 1.33 percent in July.

Zimbabwe does not now calculate year-on-year price changes due to the change in currencies.

The economy has been battered over the last decade, following President Robert Mugabe's violence-plagued land reforms which decimated farming, the backbone of the economy.

The new unity government led by Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has requested over US$8.5-billion in foreign aid to rebuild the shattered economy.

A European Union delegation visited Zimbabwe last weekend, but said the bloc will only fully engage with Zimbabwe once the unity government implements fully the power-sharing deal signed a year ago, including greater respect for human rights.

By AFP