"Closure Of RBZ Forex Auction Inconsequential"
Local economic commentators say the end of year closure of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) foreign exchange auction for close to a month will not affect the market as most companies do not depend on the auction for their forex needs.
The RBZ on Monday announced that it was closing its weekly foreign exchange auction until 9 January 2023.
Speaking to NewsDay, economic commentator Gift Mugano said the closure of the RBZ auction will have no effect on the market. Mugano said:
Mainstream imports by businesses are coming from companies’ own foreign currency generation at various levels.
Because of the dollarisation, companies are generating their own foreign currency through sales, they are self-sustaining.
In my view, I don’t see any effects of the closure of the auction system.
Another economic analyst Prosper Chitambara also told NewsDay that the closure of the platform will have no effect as most businesses will be on holiday. He said:
It is not going to affect the market much as most actors in the economy are going to close for the holiday, so I think the time will coincide with annual shutdowns by most businesses.
This week the official exchange rate was set at US$1:$671.4466 while the parallel market rate was hovering between US$1:$900 and $950. | NewsDay
