TRYNESS TEMBO, Lusaka
TODAY’S treasury bill auctions, coupled with the payment of the mid-month tax by corporates, are expected to help the Kwacha hold firm against the United States (US) dollar in the near-term, Zanaco says.
In its daily treasury newsletter, the bank says the local unit is anticipated to trade in the range of K9.60 and K9.65.
It says the Kwacha was stable against the dollar on Tuesday and is expected to remain strong in the short-term.
“The Kwacha is expected to hold firm in the days ahead, supported by local firms who need the local currency to meet mid-month tax payments, coupled with the support expected from the upcoming Treasury Bill auction,” the statement  reads.
On Tuesday, commercial banks quoted the Kwacha at K9.60 and K9.65 to the dollar, compared with Friday’s close of K9.61 and K9.66. It traded flat for most of the day to close trading unchanged from its opening levels.
Similarly, Cavmont in its market report says current trends seem to indicate that the local unit is likely to remain range-bound with limited movements towards the downside.
The Kwacha remained firm against the dollar on Tuesday having traded at K9.60 and K9.65 for most of the day.
It says the market activity on Tuesday was mostly biased towards the buy side, as most corporate buyers and importers were seen taking advantage of the current levels.
UBA also says the local currency market opened yesterday’s session trading at K9.60 and K9.65 on the interbank at par with Tuesday’s close.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that copper price on the international market edged up to trade at US$5,826 a tonne ahead of the outcome of a United States Federal Reserve meeting yesterday.
Three-month copper on the  London Metal Exchange edged up 0.1 percentage point to US$5,826 a tonne, adding to small gains from the previous session. Prices last week fell to their lowest since January 10 at US$5,652 a tonne.