Zimdollar sinks deeper, breaches $900 mark official rate

The Zimbabwe dollar has breached the $900 mark against the American dollar on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) foreign currency auction.

On Tuesday, 07 March 2023, the weighted average moved to US$1: ZWL$907.9236, from US$1: ZWL$892.6349 that was set on 28 February 2023.

Meanwhile, renowned economists are on record calling on the Zimbabwean government to dump its local currency and fully dollarise.

Prominent world economist Steve Hanke has been calling for full dollarisation, however Harare could not heed the call.

Apparently, the central bank said a total of US$18,079,094.38 was allotted yesterday up from US$17,562,464.59, which was allotted last week.

The bulk of the allotment went to raw materials followed by machinery and equipment.

The total amount allotted for the Small to Medium Enterprises Forex Auction was US$2,144,924.87 down from US$2,165,675.36.

The total amount allotted on the Main Forex Auction was US$15,934,169.51 up from US$15,396,789.59.

♦ Weighted Average Rate 907.9236 from 892.6349.

How the money was allocated:
Raw Materials……………………………………(SME) US$ 603,795.73 (MA) US$7,959,704.89

Machinery and Equipment……………………..…(SME) US$630,601.33 … (MA)US$3,262,466.97

Consumables (Incl. Spares, Tyres, Electricals, etc)…(SME) US$230,563.99 … (MA)US$966,846.51

Services (Loans, Education, Dividends, Disinvestments…) (SME)US$208,993.30 … (MA) US$1,306,547.18

Retail and Distribution (Incl. Food, Beverages, etc)…(SME)US$347,457.00 … (MA)US$1,182,639.25

Electricity ………………………………………………. (SME) US$3,409.13

Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals …………….… (SME)US$84,198.09 … (MA)US$410,374.94

Paper and Packaging …………………………… (SME)US$35,906.30 ….(MA)US$845,589.77

TOTAL Amount allotted for the SMEFX124/2023 ………..US$2,144,924.87

TOTAL Amount allotted for the MAIN FX130/2023 ………US$15,934,169.51

GRAND TOTAL AWARDED ………………………… US$18,079,094.38

Notes
1. Bids with overdue CD1s, outstanding Bills of Entry (BOEs), insufficient ZWL and those with sufficient FCA balances were also disqualified.

2. Some Bids were allotted on a pro-rata basis.