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Ray Ndlovu
Zimbabwe’s measures to stabilise the country’s currency are finally paying off: the local dollar is heading for back-to-back months of gains for the first time since it was re-introduced 18 months ago.

This comes after the central bank introduced weekly foreign-currency auctions and cracked down on mobile-money transactions, blamed by authorities for undermining the currency.

The Zimbabwe dollar slumped to $83,39 against US dollar on August 26 after being re-introduced at around $3 in March last year.

It strengthened 2,3 percent in September and has edged another 0,1 percent higher to $81,35 on Wednesday, according to central-bank data.

The currency has also strengthened on the black market, where the premium for US dollars, once more than 100 percent, has narrowed to between 15 percent and 20 percent as companies turn to official channels for foreign exchange. A local website which tracks black-market rates, marketwatch.co.zw, put the street rate at $100 per US dollar on Wednesday, down from a peak of $120.

In an October 12 statement, the central bank’s monetary policy committee said stability was achieved after it allotted a combined $291 million at 16 foreign currency auctions since their introduction on June. — Bloomberg