Business Reporter
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) foreign exchange auction pegged the Zim$ at $338,49 against US$1 with allotments being tilted in favor of stimulating productivity.
A trading update released at the close of business Tuesday confirmed the continued depreciation of the local currency on the official market.
Economic experts believe that the depreciation is a step in the right direction which is credited for closing the gap opened up by the parallel market exchange rate.
Currently, the parallel market exchange rate is hovering around US$1: ZW$400 with some traders demanding speculatively higher premiums when disposing of their foreign currency.
Allotments made during the day on the Main Auction saw a total 290 bids being received out of which 32 were disqualified with the total value of bids accepted reaching US$21,6 million .The highest bid rate received at $365 and low of $320.
Priority was tilted towards stimulating productivity with raw materials earning US$12 million, machinery and equipment US$3,9 million, consumables US$1,7 million , services US$826 581, retail and distribution US$1,2 million, electricity US$119 171, pharmaceuticals and chemicals US$662 634, paper and packaging US$635 433 .
The total allotted on the platform was US$21, 2 million.
On the Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) platform 722 bids were received with a total value of US$3,642 million out of which US$3,3 million was allotted.
The highest bid rate reached $365 and low of $320.
Raw materials earned the highest amount of US$1 million, machinery and equipment US$1,2 million , consumables US$352 328, services US$212 033, retail and distribution US$248 441, pharmaceuticals and chemicals US$144 826.
The grand total awarded on the two platforms reached US$ 24,5 million.
