Kwacha slips as supply diminishes

Sat, 20 May 2017 10:51:31 +0000

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU 

THE Kwacha came under pressure against dollar during Thursday’s trading session as demand outweighed supply which seems to have waned.

The local unit began the day trading at K9.200 / K9.250, but was later seen being quoted at K9.250 / 9.300 by mid-morning.

According to Cavmont Bank Zambia daily market report, the local currency which had recently registered some gains on the market suffered a setback during Thursday’s trading session.

Cavmont Bank report indicated that the local unit’s performance was in tandem with other emerging market currencies which also came under pressure against the green back.

The Kwacha closed at K9.300 / K9.350, K0.1 weaker than the day’s opening levels.

Movements for the local currency was however expected to be driven by demand and supply fundamentals mainly.

And Reuters reports that the dollar extended losses against the yen and the Swiss franc on Thursday as investors, feeling increasingly nervous over the future of Donald Trump’s U.S. presidency, sought safe havens for their money.

After some signs of stability in Asia, dollar selling resumed in the European morning as Reuters reported that investigators were looking at records of numerous undisclosed contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

The franc, a traditional destination for capital in times of financial or political stress, hit a 10-day high against the euro and its strongest since Trump’s election last November against the dollar.

The yen, which saw its biggest daily gain against the dollar since last July on Wednesday, gained another 0.4 percent to 110.24 yen.