• There haven’t been any significant changes in the Kwacha performance for the past one week.
• The Kwacha has not been fluctuating significantly, it remained in the same range.
• The Kwacha-Dollar rate has remained high.

Some Economists in Lusaka say the Kwacha performance has remained stable for the past one week.
Mambo Hamaundu tells Money FM News in an interview that there hasn’t been any major change in the performance of the local currency because it has not been fluctuating significantly.
Mr. Hamaundu however states that the stability does not imply that the local unit has gained strength against global convertible currencies, because the Kwacha US dollar rate is still high.
He added that the Kwacha’s upward and downward movement has not been significant for the last week one, and the trend has continued this week.
“There haven’t been any significant changes in the Kwacha performance for the past one week. One can describe the Kwacha as having been stable meaning it has not been fluctuating significantly. It remained in the same range, last week’s performance was stable and when we say its stable, it does not mean that the Kwacha has appreciated, the Kwacha dollar rate still remains high trading over K22.7 and K22.8 which is still high.”
“But in terms of its movement upwards or downwards it hasn’t been significant that is I am saying for last week one can actually say that the performance of the Kwacha against major convertible currencies was stable. This week it has also been in the same range we have not yet seen any significant fluctuation. It is within the same range that it was last week,” Mr. Hamaundu noted.
Further, Mr. Hamaundu stated that the exchange rate does not fluctuate significantly when demand and supply are in the same range, because this is what dictates the market.
“The market is dictated by demand and supply, so when demand and supply are in the same range, the price in this case the exchange rate does not fluctuate significantly so I think this is the main reason why we have seen the Kwacha performing in that manner,” he said.
Meanwhile, another Economist Shabdin Mweemba said the local unit has been relatively stable due to stability in government policies.
‘At least the Kwacha has stabilized now, for example a dollar is K22.8 so there is some stability now. There is also stability in government policies. In the recent past we haven’t heard major pronouncements or shift in the policies,” Mr. Mweemba stated.
And some commercial banks say the Kwacha was steady on Friday due to the low market activity caused by the high levels of Covid-19 cases in the country.
At 08:30 hrs, the banks quoted the Kwacha at K22.63 and 22.68 per dollar, little changed from its Thursday close of K22.62/22.67 on the bid and offer respectively.
The local currency opened the market on Monday this week trading at K22.46 Ngwee and K22.89. The Kwacha opened Tuesday’s Interbank trading session at 22.64 and 22.69 against the dollar, and closed at the same rate.
According to the banks, the market saw moderate supply from sellers and demand from importers was relatively low owing to tight Kwacha Liquidity. The rate is likely to trade within range with demand and supply being its main drivers.