Currency Turmoil Returns in Zimbabwe With Local Dollar Plunging 40% on Black Market

Local unit trades unofficially at over Z$10,000 to US dollar
No equilibrium between official, unofficial markets: MPC

A range of factors, including the end of tobacco sales and a softening of global commodity prices, have affected local dollar inflows into the country.
Photographer: Jekesai Njikizana/AFP/Getty Images

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By Ray Ndlovu

January 8, 2024 at 1:41 PM UTC

Updated on

January 9, 2024 at 12:49 PM UTC

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Zimbabwe’s dollar has started the new year on the back foot, plunging more than 40% on the parallel market, as high demand for foreign-exchange continues to outstrip supply.

A range of factors, including the end of tobacco sales and a softening of global commodity prices, has affected US dollar inflows into the southern African nation, causing its exchange rate to spiral, according to Persistence Gwanyanya, a member of the central bank’s monetary policy committee. The mineral-rich nation gets 85% of its foreign exchange from mining.