Zambian currency continues poor run, trades above K20 against dollar

The Zambian Kwacha traded defensively against the United States (US) dollar on Thursday owing to the consistent demand from large corporates and retailers who sought the greenback for supplier payments and other import requirements.

According to Absa market update, supply remained thin on the day.

Opening market at 08:30 hours, commercial banks in Lusaka quoted the local unit at K20.150/20.200 per dollar.

It was reported that the local currency lost 2.5 ngwee by mid-morning to close market at K20.175/20.250 on the bid and offer respectively.

The report indicated that the local unit is still likely to remain range bound but could continue posting minor daily loses on increased greenback appetite.

On the money market, the volumes of funds traded on the interbank in yesterday’s session moved downwards from K640.00 million to k445.00 million.

It stated that the weighted overnight interbank rate slightly dropped to 9.24 percent from 9.25 percent.

“The liquidity levels in the market dropped from K2,223.85 million to K1,269.65 million seen in the previous session,” it stated.

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