Harare, (New Ziana) – The Zimbabwe dollar held steady at $81.35 to the greenback in Tuesday’s trade, the third consecutive week it has done so.

Results from foreign currency auction, the 19th since it was introduced when the local currency was floated in June, showed that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has continued to meet demand.

A total of US$27.85 million was awarded to a combined 366 bidders for both the main auction and that for small to medium enterprises, while 54 bids were disqualified for various reasons.

The highest rate offered was $89 while the lowest accepted rate was $79.

As has become the norm at the auctions, the highest amounts were allocated to raw materials and machinery.

While some have criticised the foreign currency auction as fixed, the stabilisation of the exchange rate has seen its benefits cascade to the rest of the economy with a slowdown in the increases of prices of goods and services.

Before the auction, the uncontrolled parallel market was used to determine prices, which saw them always going up at an astronomic rate.

The auction and other measures implemented by the central bank have kept the black market rate in check, and as a result it has traded at around $105 or less for the past two months.
New Ziana