Between Jan. 1 and March 31, the Zambian kwacha depreciated from 18 units of the local currency for every dollar to slightly more than 21 units per dollar. depreciation kwacha
After ending 2022 as one of Africa’s best-performing currencies, the Zambian kwacha depreciated from 18 units of the local currency for every dollar on Jan. 1, to slightly more than 21 units per dollar by March 31. In addition, aby Bloomberg has said the kwacha is set to realize its first quarterly decline since Q1 of 2020.
At that time, the kwacha’s drop versus major currencies was attributed to fears Zambia would become the first sovereign defaulter on the African continent. A few months later, Zambia, which was then led by Edgar Lungu, would become the first country from the continent to . However, following Lungu’s departure in August 2021, the Zambian kwacha’s value surged from around 19.34 units per dollar to 15.3:1 on Sept. 2, 2022.was spurred by reports that the International Monetary Fund had approved a bailout package for Zambia. However, since the beginning of the year, the kwacha has lost ground against the U.S. dollar and other major currencies.
Meanwhile, the Bloomberg report suggested that a weakened kwacha and a resurgent inflation rate are likely to prompt another rate hike by the Zambian central bank.Tags in this story