Zimbabwe does not have a forex 'problem,' central bank boss says
Zimbabwe has ample dollars to supply demand, according to the head of the central bank, who assured the southern African nation that it does not have a currency "problem".
"Yesterday we went into the market as a central bank to sell forex, we went in with about $20 million," Governor John Mushayavanhu told the state broadcaster ZTN on Friday.
"The banks were only able to buy $15 million. In other words that was the demand that was there in the market."
Key businesses have urged the authorities to allow the free-float of the local currency, a gold-backed unit called the ZiG, which was launched last year, amid concerns that efforts to support its value have made foreign currency scarce.
"If there is anyone who has an import invoice or foreign payment that they need to make outside the country and has not made it, they can go to the bank and it will be honored," Mushayavanhu assured Zimbabweans. "We don’t have a foreign exchange problem."
The ZiG, short for Zimbabwe Gold, has struggled to establish itself since its April 2024 debut with a population still scarred by memories of previous local currencies, which collapsed amid sky-rocketing inflation with devastating effect on people’s savings.
The central bank devalued the ZiG by 43% in September, though it’s been relatively stable in recent weeks, and the dollar accounts for about 70% of payments.
Still, the government wants the ZiG to become the sole currency by the end of the decade and Mushayavanhu said that its adoption was gaining strength as he repeated that goal.-BLOOMBERG
"Yesterday we went into the market as a central bank to sell forex, we went in with about $20 million," Governor John Mushayavanhu told the state broadcaster ZTN on Friday.
"The banks were only able to buy $15 million. In other words that was the demand that was there in the market."
Key businesses have urged the authorities to allow the free-float of the local currency, a gold-backed unit called the ZiG, which was launched last year, amid concerns that efforts to support its value have made foreign currency scarce.
"If there is anyone who has an import invoice or foreign payment that they need to make outside the country and has not made it, they can go to the bank and it will be honored," Mushayavanhu assured Zimbabweans. "We don’t have a foreign exchange problem."
The ZiG, short for Zimbabwe Gold, has struggled to establish itself since its April 2024 debut with a population still scarred by memories of previous local currencies, which collapsed amid sky-rocketing inflation with devastating effect on people’s savings.
The central bank devalued the ZiG by 43% in September, though it’s been relatively stable in recent weeks, and the dollar accounts for about 70% of payments.
Still, the government wants the ZiG to become the sole currency by the end of the decade and Mushayavanhu said that its adoption was gaining strength as he repeated that goal.-BLOOMBERG
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