Absa Bank Zambia says the Kwacha is expected to start gaining some relief in the third quarter of 2021.

Speaking during the Absa Data Journalism Masterclass Training, Bank Head of Global Market Stanly Tamele said the currency has taken a significant depreciating trend against the US Dollar and other major Convertible currencies.

Mr. Tamele cited very high unsustained levels of demand from the Energy and Agriculture sectors as some of the factors affecting the performance of the exchange rate.

He said the “Energy sector has some component of importation of Crude oil which is procured in US Dollars, therefore with the weakening of the local currency, more Kwacha has to be used to procure the commodity.”

Mr. Tamele however stated that the Kwacha liquidity on the market is stable than that of the US Dollar, adding the currency is expected to continue being under pressure towards the end of the year.