RBZ injecting US$50 million into the interbank foreign exchange market

HARARE – The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is with immediate effect injecting over US$50 million into the interbank foreign exchange market to supplement liquidity under the Willing-Buyer Willing-Seller (WBWS) trading arrangement.

In a statement, the central bank governor, John Mushayavanhu said since April 5 this year, it has been participating in the interbank foreign exchange market to supplement liquidity under the WBWS trading arrangement.

“The participation of the Reserve Bank in the interbank market has helped to complement the supply of foreign currency by Authorised Dealers to meet demand by economic agents,” he said.

Mushayavanhu said in recent weeks, the RBZ has witnessed a build-up in the pipeline demand for foreign currency at banks, thus putting undue pressure on the foreign exchange market.

“In light of the above, the Reserve Bank is immediately injecting over US$50 million into the interbank foreign exchange market guided by the obtaining pipeline demand at banks as of 25 July 2024,” he said.

He said consistent with the April 24 Monetary Policy measures that introduced the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency, the apex bank has been building foreign reserves which now stand at about four times cover of the reserve money.

Mushayavanhu said the country continues to generate significant foreign currency to meet import requirements as evidenced by an almost 10 percent increase in foreign currency receipts during the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.

“Reflecting the foreign currency receipts, the bulk of foreign payments are currently being met by balances in foreign currency accounts (FCA)”.

“Going forward, the Reserve Bank remains an active participant in the interbank foreign exchange market to compliment foreign currency supply under the WBWS trading platform to meet all genuine and bona fide foreign payments,” said Mushayavanhu.

He said the bank is satisfied with the general acceptance and uptake of the ZiG by the market and will continue to ensure currency and exchange rate stability in the macro-economy. New Ziana