Kwacha maintains position against United States dollar

The Zambian kwacha traded largely unchanged against the United States dollar on Friday as foreign currency demand and supply remained balanced on the interbank market. The local currency opened trading at K18.8000/K18.8500 per US dollar and maintained the same levels throughout the session, according to Absa Bank market report. Market analysts said the relatively stable trading reflected subdued market activity, with no significant shifts in foreign exchange demand during the day.

“The kwacha is expected to continue trading within a narrow range in the short term, with movements likely to depend on prevailing market supply and demand conditions,” the commentary noted. Meanwhile, copper prices fell to a one-week low on Monday amid pressure from a stronger United States dollar, weaker oil prices and softer economic data from China. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange declined by 0.23 percent to US$13,524 per metric tonne.

Analysts said the stronger US dollar made industrial metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies, while weaker economic data from China raised concerns over demand from the world’s largest consumer of copper. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.