Absa Bank Zambia says the local currency traded steady in Thursday’s session against the US dollar.
In its latest market update report, the Bank said this is despite opening 1 ngwee weaker from Wednesday’s close of Twenty One Kwacha and Twenty One Kwacha Fifty Ngwee.
It stated that Dollar conversions by some large corporates coupled with dollar selling by the central bank helped ease some pressure on the Kwacha on the day.
According to the bank, the local unit opened the market at Twenty One Kwacha One Ngwee and Twenty one Kwacha Six Ngwee to the dollar and held the same levels until closure.
“With demand still weighing heavier than supply, the Kwacha is anticipated to continue trading on the back foot in the short term.”
“The liquidity levels in the market significantly increased in yesterday’s trading session moving from K3, 947.95 Million to K4, 063.87 Million. The volumes of funds traded on the interbank reduced further to K382.00 Million from K475.50 Million while the weighted overnight interbank rate was up 7bps at 8.17% from 8.24%,” the bank said.
It further stated that the local market was flat in Thursday’s trading session with yields remaining unchanged across all tenors.