Kwacha stabilises

THE Kwacha has continued to maintain the K10 and K11 levels recorded when the local currency recouped against the United States dollar last month as the price of copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) on Wednesday rose, recovering from a one-week low a day earlier.
A snap survey conducted in selected bureaus in Lusaka by Daily Mail yesterday, revealed that the Kwacha is still trading in the ranges of K10.60 and K10.95 on bid and K10.94 and K11.20 on offer.
At Golden Coin bureau, the Kwacha was pegged at K10.80 and K11.00 on bid and offer, respectively, while FX Bureau pegged the local unit at K10.95 and K11.01 on bid and offer, respectively.
In other selected currencies in the region, only the Kenyan shilling marginally depreciated from 0.0079 against to 0.0097 against the dollar.
However, other currencies recorded marginal appreciation with the Nigerian naira being pegged at 0.00502 from 0.00503, the South African rand was pegged at 0.0671 from 0.0673 while the Botswana pula was pegged at 0.09006 from 0.09050.
This is according to www.xe currency convertor.
On the commodities market, copper rose on Wednesday, recovering from a one-week low hit a day earlier as the dollar rally petered out and metals investors covered short positions ahead of an expected US rate rise.
According to Reuters, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed one percent higher at US$4,609 a tonne, reversing losses from Tuesday when it hit US$4,554, the lowest since December 8.
The dollar edged back from a near one-week high, offering temporary relief to non-US investors buying dollar-priced metals. The dollar moves were limited, however, as the Federal Reserve is seen delivering its first rate hike in nearly a decade at 19:00 hours.
“There’s been short covering ahead of the Fed … [but] people are cautious of getting too long. It would be amazing not to see the dollar rally in the event of a hike,” said Vivienne Lloyd, analyst at Macquarie.