By Bloomberg News
-
Currency stability may bring in price cuts, MPC member says
-
Central bank seen maintaining key rate at 200% for now
Zimbabwe’s volatile currency is showing signs of stabilising, with the gap between the official and parallel-market exchange rates narrowing and raising hopes runaway inflation may cool.
“We have basically converged with an acceptable premium between the alternative and interbank rates,” Persistence Gwanyanya, a Harare-based economist and a member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s monetary policy committee, said by phone. “The markets are at equilibrium.”
Signs of Convergence
The gap between the Zimbabwean dollar’s various rates is narrowing
Source: IH Securities
The government has unveiled a raft of measures since May — including a new interbank rate, gold coins, legalizing the use of the US dollar and a brief ban on bank lending — to try halt a decline in the value of the local unit that helped spur inflation to 285% in August.
While the Zimbabwe dollar is the world’s worst-performing currency this year — slumping more than 80% against the greenback — the even-larger collapse of its value on the street has reversed.
The latest interbank rate is Z$604 per dollar, with businesses allowed to add a 10% mark-up in pricing goods and services. That brings it in line with the parallel market spread of between Z$650 and Z$700 per greenback.
With the currency markets stabilizing, the central bank now expects businesses to begin cutting prices, Gwanyanya said.
World Highest
“It is inescapable,” he said. “The next wave is that of price reductions and that will cement the stability.”
Still, the central bank won’t rush to cut its key interest rate, currently the world’s highest at 200%.
“An earlier softening may result in reversal of gains,” according to Gwanyanya.
It’s also unclear whether some of the measures imposed to bring the exchange rates in line are sustainable, given they will restrict economic activity and elections are due next year, according to Lloyd Mlotshwa, head of research at IH Securities, a Harare-based brokerage firm.
“The convergence has been achieved by punitively constricting local-currency liquidity, that is by stopping government contract payments, increasing interest rates to 200% and taxes on capital markets,” he said.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Business News Click Here
