Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Alois Vinga
THE Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) has acknowledged that public perceptions during the post-August polls contributed towards ZWL depreciation.
This was revealed in the monthly economic review for the period of September 2023 which bemoaned the fact that annual inflation rose by 18,4% in September 2023.
Despite the reduction of inflation rates, the CSO grouping expressed concerns that consumer purchasing power during the period declined by 18,4% between Sept 2022 and Sept 2023.
ZIMCODD said on the exchange rate front, the ZWL erased 15,7% of its value against the US$ to close the month at US$1: ZWL5,466.75 while in the alternative markets, the ZWL lost at least 15% of its value to close the month at an average of ZWL/USD 7,100 from ZWL/USD 6,000.
While the coalition attributed the depreciation to the resumption by the government in paying contractors, public perceptions were also singled out as chief among the key drivers for depreciation.
“Also, ZWL depreciation pressures are being driven by human behavior such as negative perceptions fuelled by disputed August 2023 harmonized elections as well as excessive unproductive rent-seeking powered by prevailing multiple exchange rates,” said ZIMCODD.
In a related development, the latest trading update by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Foreign Exchange Auction shows that the official exchange rate reached US$1:ZWL 5 668 down from the rate of ZWL5 663 recorded last week.
Accordingly, traders are allowed to charge a maximum premium of ZWL6 234 against the greenback which is closer to the US$1: 6 500 mark which is widely available on the parallel market.
The update also reveals that on the Wholesale Auction platform where banks are allowed to source for foreign currency for onward sale to their clients submitted 19 bids which were allotted US$17,7 million out of the total US$20 million on offer.
Market watchers believe that the failure to take up the entire amount on offer is a sign that ZWL availability in the market remains within a normal range.
On the Retail Auction platform, a grand total of US$1,9 million was allotted towards the productive pillars of the economy.
As such raw materials were allotted US$606 955, machinery and equipment US$448 704, Consumables US$148 892, Services US$283 645, Retail US$306 868 among others.
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