RBZ Auction allots US$17,5 mln, official exchange rate closes month at equilibrium
Business Reporter
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Foreign Exchange Auction weekly allotments hit US$17,5 million with the official rate ending the month of February 2022 having closed the parallel market gap in what market watchers believe is a positive indicator for stability.
A trading update released at the close of trading this week shows that on the Main Auction platform a total of 174 bids were accepted with allotments going towards production related needs such as raw materials which received US$7,8 million , machinery and equipment US$2,8 million, consumables, US$1,2 million, services US$1,3 million among others.
A similar trend was sustained on the SME Auction where the total US$2, 1 million allotted went towards production related needs.
The official exchange rate closed the day at ZW$892, 63 against US$1.
Economic analyst, Persistence Gwanyanya hailed the development saying this , combined with trends such as maintaining a pattern without backlogs, will go a long way to enhance stability.
“ The month of February closed on a good note for the Auction System as the parallel and interbank rates equilibrate. RBZ has been funding the Auction allocation within committed timeframes of two weeks.
“lt is important to note that we are more concerned with equilibrium than convergence which essentially means state of stability,” he said.
He however added that the two markets may never converge as the parallel market always prices for risk premium.
