Zimbabwe dollar kicks off at 57.36 to the US dollar

The much awaited Zimbabwe foreign exchange auction kicked off today with the local currency trading at 57.36 to the United States dollar.

According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe the highest rate offered was 100:1 and the lowest was 25.5: 1, just 50 cents above the fixed rate that has been operating since26 March.

The black market was trading at between 75:1 and 90:1.

Online platforms that publish black market rates are, however, still blank except for the Old Mutual Implied rate which was at 128:1 today.

The central bank says US$10.3 million was allotted against total bids of US$11.4 million, just over a million short.

It said the highest amount, US$ 2.9 million, went to raw materials with US$2.4 million going to machinery and equipment.

Other amounts were:

US$1.4 million for food and beverages
US$1.3 million for services
U$1.3 million for consumables, including spares, tyres and packaging
US$436 400 for portfolio investments
US$263 100 for fuel, electricity and gas
US$257 000 for chemicals
US$53 600 for livestock, and
US$50 000 for medicals

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Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.