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Zimbabwe central bank says it's intervening in foreign exchange market
31 Aug 2024 at 11:14hrs | Views
Zimbabwe's central bank said it's "strategically intervening" in the foreign-exchange market to meet demand for dollars among lenders amid a slump in the nation's bullion-backed currency.
The intervention is being done using 50% of the foreign-exchange proceeds that the central bank collects from exporters, Governor John Mushayavanhu said, without disclosing the amount. The Reserve Bank will continue to participate in the foreign exchange market "to ensure operational flexibility within the supply and demand dynamics," he said Friday in an emailed statement of the mid-term monetary policy.
In July, the central bank put $50 million in the foreign-exchange market to help meet a surge in demand for dollars and support its gold-backed unit, the ZiG, adopted in early April.
The ZiG, short for Zimbabwe Gold, is the nation's sixth attempt at having a functioning local currency in 15 years. It is backed by gold, precious minerals and cash reserves. The ZiG weakened to 13.85 per dollar Friday — its lowest-level since launch.
The intervention is being done using 50% of the foreign-exchange proceeds that the central bank collects from exporters, Governor John Mushayavanhu said, without disclosing the amount. The Reserve Bank will continue to participate in the foreign exchange market "to ensure operational flexibility within the supply and demand dynamics," he said Friday in an emailed statement of the mid-term monetary policy.
The ZiG, short for Zimbabwe Gold, is the nation's sixth attempt at having a functioning local currency in 15 years. It is backed by gold, precious minerals and cash reserves. The ZiG weakened to 13.85 per dollar Friday — its lowest-level since launch.
Source - Bloomberg
