Govt sets to announce new measures to stabilise Zimbabwe dollar
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube says he soon will announce new interventions to deal with the recent volatility affecting the Zimbabwe dollar.
Speaking to the State-Controlled publication, The Sunday Mail, Ncube attributed the weakening of the local currency in the past few weeks to speculative behaviour and scarcity of hard currency in the market during “this high-demand season”.
He said the measures to prop up the ailing currency may include reforming the foreign currency auction system. He said:
Currency volatility is being caused by speculative behaviour in the market and a shortage of foreign currency during this high-demand season.
The government will be taking further fiscal and monetary policy measures, which may include auction redesign to deal with the volatility.
The government will also increase the supply of foreign currency at a time when demand for it is high.
The Zimbabwe dollar has lost significant ground to the United States dollar during the first three weeks of 2024.
The street rate weakened from US$1:$9 800 during the last week of December to US$1: $13 000 last week.
On the official market, the rate stood at US$1: 5 903 on 29 December and has since declined to US$1: $8 331.