According to observations made by our esteemed colleagues at Marketwatch, the Zimbabwean basket of currencies all depreciated significantly against the US dollar and other currencies this week.

The current black market rates

According to Marketwatch, the Zimbabwean dollar was trading at the following rates:

USD / ZWL$ according to zimrates.com the rate was 11.3
USD / ZWL$ according to zwl365.com the rate was 11.1
USD / ZWL$ according to bluemari.info the rate was 11.2
USD / ZWL$ according to the rbz.co.zw the average official rate was 10.28
USD / BOND according to zimrates.com the rate was 8

What this means is that the rate has depreciated to the extent that you now need $11.30 ZWL to buy a single US dollar and $8 in bond notes to do the same.

Expect another spell of price hikes this coming week

Even though prices goods are now supposed to be set in ZWL most traders simply use the black market rate to gauge the “right” price to charge. This is because most traders either have to buy foreign currency on this market to buy goods or for the purpose of safeguarding their savings from inflation.

The government has also made known its intention to make sure that fuel sells at the equivalent of $1 USD. When the black market goes up the official rate follows hot on its heels so expect another eventual fuel price hike.