Zimbabwe’s Black Market, Where the Dollar Trades Against Itself
- Dealers charging premium for bank notes as cash shortage bites
- Banks limiting withrawals, shutting ATMs to stem flow
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In Zimbabwe -- the country that once suffered 500 billion percent inflation -- one dollar may now cost you as much as $1.07.
A shortage of banknotes is resulting in a new black market more than seven years after Zimbabwe abolished its own money, the Zimbabwean dollar, and adopted the greenback and other foreign currencies to avoid exactly that sort of unofficial trading. The cash crunch has intensified in recent weeks, according to central bank Governor John Mangudya, forcing banks to limit withdrawals and shut down some ATMs.