Zimbabwe dollar steady against US dollar

The Zimbabwe dollar remained steady against the United States dollar appreciating by less than a cent to average 82.0833 at today’s foreign currency auction against last week’s 82.0914.

A total of US$35.3 million was allotted today, slightly less than US$35.8 million disbursed last week.

Only nine bids from the Small and Medium Enterprises auction and 29 from the main were disqualified.

A total of 479 bids, 219 from the SME and 260 from the main auctions, qualified with the SMEs getting US$2.9 million and the main, US$32.5million.

Raw materials, machinery and equipment were allotted US$22.3 million.

Offers remained within range with the highest being $87 while the lowest remained at $80.

A total of US$71.2 million has been disbursed in the two auctions held so far this year while US$696.1 million has been disbursed since the auction started on 23 June last year.

The local currency also remained within range at the Optional Market Implied Rate which today dropped slightly to $103.64.

The central bank’s monetary policy committee which sets the tone for the country’s monetary policy is expected to hold its second meeting for this year on Friday.

It last met on 7 January and decided among other things to allow exporters to retain their foreign currency instead of liquidating it after 60 days, a move that is believed to have brought stability to the local currency.

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