Zambia’s kwacha firms after central bank sells dollars to support currency

Zambia’s kwacha firmed briefly against the dollar on Tuesday after the central bank intervened to support the battered currency by selling dollars, but later retreated, traders said.

The kwacha gained as much as 4 percent to 12.028 per dollar after sinking 17 percent in the previous session to a record low. However, the kwacha had given up all its gains to trade at 12.5400 by 0820 GMT.

“The central bank has been pumping dollars in the market to shore up a weakening kwacha,” Bwalya Mwanza, a forex trader at BancABC said. (Reporting Chris mfula; Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia)

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