Official And Black Market Exchange Rates

OMIR	122.22
USD / ZWL$ ZIPIT/Bank	95
USD / ZWL$ OneMoney	92
USD / ZWL$ Ecocash	86
USD / BOND* (Cash)	70
USD / BOND* (USD1 Notes)**	75
USD / ZWL$ RBZ Highest Bid Rate	85.00
USD / ZWL$ RBZ Lowest Bid Rate	40.00
USD / ZWL$ RBZ Average Rate	68.89

*Illegal traders are no longer accepting bond notes, they will take $5,$10 and $20 notes without the words bond on them.

**Due to an acute change problem in the market $1 USD notes are selling for a premium

Last updated 14 July 2020 17:30 AM

14 July Official Auction Allocation Of Funds

Purpose	Amount Allotted(US$)
Raw Materials	5 623 684.60
Machinery and Equipment	3 016 110.90
Retail and Distribution (Incl. Food, Beverages, etc)	2 476 441.00
Consumables (Incl. Spares, Tyres, Electrical)	1 416 913.67
Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals	1 264 842.70
Services (Loans. Dividends and Disinvestment)	900 526.72
Paper and Packaging	761 500.00
Fuel, Electricity and Gas	528 200.00
TOTAL	15 988 219.59

• The average rate rose from last week’s $65.88 ZWL per 1 USD to this week’s average rate of $68.89 ZWL per 1 USD
• This average rate is to be used with caution. Please read our explanation on why the rate is to be treated as a rough guide rather than used for internal calculations
• The amount allotted this week was just under US$16 million an increase from last week’s US$13 million. However, the total bids amounted to US$18 million underscoring the thirst for foreign currency
• There were 59 rejected bids compared to last week’s 92 rejected bids
• Reasons for rejection include things like the need for the foreign currency not being on the priority list, the bidding company has what appears to be adequate foreign currency in their accounts, companies that seem like they are externalising etc.
• What this means is that demand for foreign currency still far outstrips supply
• Some people/entities who wanted foreign currency were not able to get it

Other Things to note

• The government has stopped the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) from operating, this means OMIR values remain frozen
• The new official rate is determined by an auction which is carried out once a week. The above official rate will last for a week after the auction.
• Recently the RBZ banned Ecocash Cash-in and Cash-out, the primary means through which illegal traders by and sell foreign currency. This dampened the market and has driven the sellers even further underground.
• You can read our analysis of the latest FIU directive that promises to crack on illegal foreign currency dealer adverts on social media here
• We don’t illegally trade in foreign currency. This data is obtained from various sources including MarketWatch and WhatsApp groups based on what illegal traders are offering or asking for.
• There is an undeniable link between prices in Zimbabwe and the black market exchange rates which a lot of businesses, including retailers and manufacturers use to compute their prices.

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