TABLE OF CONTENTS


Week ly Economic
Highlights


Vol. 25 No. 24


Week Ending
16 th June 2023

1. OVERVIEW

This report provides an update on the latest developments in the money and capital markets for
the week ending 16 June 2023. The report also covers developments in the tobacco, mineral
commodities, gold coins and stock markets during the week. The last section of the report
presents an analysis of mineral commodity prices and the exchange rate.

The minimum and maximum deposit rates for domestic currency deposits remained unchanged
during the week under review. Commercial banks continued to offer higher deposit rates for long
term deposits and lower deposit rates for short term deposits. The value of transactions processed
through the National Payment System increased from ZW$2,355.82 billion in the previous period
to close at ZW$4,698.73 billion, while the volume of transactions processed through the System
decreased by 8.42%, during the week under review. The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE)
exhibited bullish sentiments, while Victoria Falls Stock exchange continued to exhibit bearish
sentiments during the same week.

The volume of tobacco sales as at the end of the week was 53.96% higher than the volume sold
during the same period in 2022. The turnover realized from the tobacco sales was 53.56% higher
than the US$529.86 million realized during the same period in 2022.

2. INTEREST RATES

Local Currency (ZWL) Deposit Rates

Commercial bank minimum and maximum deposit rates for domestic currency deposits of 1
month and 3 months tenor declined during the week ending 16th June 2023 as the maximum
savings deposit rates registered a marginal increase with banks seeking to encourage savings
deposits following the recent liquidity tightening by the Central Bank. The minimum savings
deposit rates remained unchanged during the week under review.

Table 1: Average Deposit Rates (per annum)
Date
Savings deposits (%)
1- Month deposit rates (%)

3- Month deposit rates (%)

Minimum (%)
Maximum (%)
Minimum (%)
Maximum (%) Minimum (%)
Maximum (%)
19-May-23

26-May-23

2-Jun-23

9-Jun-23

16-Jun-23

Source: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 2023


Local Currency (ZWL) Lending Rates

The minimum ZWL lending rates for both individuals and corporate borrowers were adjusted
upwards during the week under analysis, in part, reflecting the effects of tight liquidity conditions
in the market. The maximum ZWL lending rates were higher for individuals and lower for
corporates, a move that should re-direct credit towards the corporate borrowers. The ZWL
lending rates are shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Lending Rates (per annum)
Date
Minimum (%)
Maximum (%)
Minimum (%)
Maximum (%)

Individual Clients

Corporate Clients
19-May-23
71.91
100.67
102.96

162.50
26-May-23

2-Jun-23

9-Jun-23

16-Jun-23

Source: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 2023

Foreign Currency (USD) Deposit Rates


The minimum and maximum deposits rates for all classes of FCA deposits remained at the
previous week levels during the week under analysis, as shown in Table 3. Commercial banks
continued to offer higher deposit rates on longer-term FCA deposits, which should enable them
to attract long-term foreign currency deposits to support longer-term lending.


Table 3: Average Foreign Currency Deposit Rates (per annum)


Foreign Currency (USD) Lending Rates
Commercial banks reduced the minimum lending rates on US dollar loans for the corporate
borrowers during the week ending 16 June 2023 and raised the minimum rates for the individual
clients during the same week. The maximum foreign currency lending rates for individual
borrowers were adjusted upwards as the maximum lending rates for corporates softened. The
adjustments should encourage borrowing by the low-risk corporates and discourage consumptive
borrowing, which is necessary to encourage production. The lending rates during the week are
in Table 4.

Table 4: Lending Rates (per annum)
Date
Minimum (%)
Maximum (%)
Minimum (%)
Maximum (%)

Individual Clients

Corporate Clients
19-May-23
11.35
13.32
7.64

14.48
26-May-23

2-Jun-23

9-Jun-23

16-Jun-23

Source: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 2023
3. CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT ACTIVITY

The value of transactions processed through the National Payment System (NPS) increased
during the week under review from ZW$2.36 trillion in the previous week to ZW$4.70 trillion.
The value of Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions increased by 107.45% to
ZW$4.16 trillion, during the week, reflecting the effects of increases in the volume of
transactions and prices. The increase in ATM transaction values were, in part, on account of
higher transaction limits for ATM transactions and firming demand for ZWL cash.

The distribution of the NPS transactions during the week ending 16 June 2023 were as shown in
Figure 1.

Figure 1: Composition of NPS Transactions in Value Terms


The volume of transactions processed through the NPS during the week under review decreased
by 8.42% to 11.05 million, partly reflecting an increase in transaction value limits. In volume
terms, the NPS transactions were distributed as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Composition of NPS Transactions in Volume Terms

Source: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 2023


Source
: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 2023
RTGS
88.57 %
POS
3.95 %
ATM
2.54 %
MOBILE
4.94 %
RTGS
POS
ATM
MOBILE

RTGS ,
%
1.63
POS , 20.30 %
ATM , 0.97 %
MOBILE , 77.10 %
RTGS
POS
ATM
MOBILE

Table 5: National Payment Systems Activity
PAYMENT
STREAM
WEEK ENDING
WEEK ENDING

9th June 2023
16th June 2023

% CHANGE FROM
LAST WEEK
PROPORTION
%

Values in ZW$ Millions


RTGS

POS

ATM

MOBILE

TOTAL


Volumes


RTGS

POS

ATM

MOBILE

TOTAL

Source: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 2023


4.
TOBACCO SALES
A cumulative total of 269.07 million kilograms of tobacco had been sold as at 16th June 2023,
the 68th day of the tobacco selling season. The volume of tobacco sales represented a 53.96%
increase, compared to the 174.76 million kilograms sold during the same period in 2022. The
turnover realized from the sales amounted to US$813.68 million and was 53.56% higher than
the US$529.86 million realized during the same period in 2022, as shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Weekly Cumulative Tobacco Sales: Day 68 (16th June 2023)

Variance (%)
Cumulative Quantity Sold (million kgs)
174,769,118
269,071,217
53.96
Average Price (US$/kg)
3.03
3.02
-0.26
Cumulative value (US$ million)
529,860,829
813,679,270
53.56
Source: Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), 2023

The golden leaf was sold at an average price of US$3.02/kg, during the week under review, down
from US$3.03/kg realized during the same period in 2022.

5. INTERNATIONAL COMMODITY PRICE DEVELOPMENTS

During the week ending 16th June 2023, weekly average international prices for gold, platinum,
palladium, and crude oil were generally subdued while copper and nickel rallied from their
previous week’s levels. The precious metals, notably gold and platinum were largely weighed
down by the effect of a stronger US dollar on investment demand. Table 7 shows developments
in prices for selected commodities during the week under review.
Table 7: Metal and Crude Oil Prices for the week ending 16th June 2023


Gold
Platinum
Palladium
Copper
Nickel
Crude Oil

US$/ounce US$/ounce US$/ounce US$/tonne US$/tonne US$/barrel
Weekly Average (05- 09 June)

12-June

13-June

14-June

15-June

16-June

Weekly Average (12- 16 June)

Weekly Change (%)

Source: BBC, KITCO and Bloomberg 2023

Gold

Gold prices remained bearish sliding by 0.18% to US$1,955.40 per ounce from US$1,958.86 per
ounce in the previous week. Prices were weighed down as renewed market confidence evidenced
by high returns from interest-bearing assets prompted investors to shift to riskier assets.
Furthermore, hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials pointing to aggressive interest
rate hikes despite signs of slowing U.S. inflation also dampened appeal for precious metals.

Platinum
Platinum prices significantly decreased by 3,35% from an average of US$1,021.40 per ounce in
the previous week to US$987.20 per ounce during the week under review. Prices slowed down
on account of prospects investment demand as well as improvements in production as the power
crisis dissipates in top producer, South Africa.

Palladium
Meanwhile, palladium remained sluggish and eased by 1.90% from a weekly average of
US$1,391.50 per ounce in the previous week to US$1,365.10 per ounce. Palladium prices
remained bearish owing to weak global industrial demand particularly in the auto sector.

Copper
Copper prices continued an upward trend largely on account of demand recovery in China, the
world's largest consumer of base metals. This follows announcement of plans for additional
stimulus measures to boost the Asian’s giant economy. Resultantly, the red metal’s prices
increased by 1.96%, from an average of US$8,315.40 per tonne to US$8,478.70 per tonne during
the week ending 16th June 2023. Copper is poised to rise for a third straight week, notching its
longest winning streak since the beginning of the year.

Nickel
Nickel prices markedly rose by 5.60% from US$21,125.80 per tonne to US$22,308.00 per tonne,
occasioned by robust demand from China. On the supply side, supply disruptions in top nickel
producer. Indonesia, also supported the metal’s price.

Brent Crude Oil
During the week ending 16th June 2023, crude oil average prices declined by 1.71% to US$74.31
per barrel, from US$75.60 per barrel recorded in the previous week. The decline in oil prices was
driven by a combination of factors, including a decline in US crude inventories and ongoing
supply disruptions in several major producing nations.

6. EXCHANGE RATE DEVELOPMENTS

Interbank Market
The Zimbabwe dollar (ZW$) depreciated on the interbank market by 56.3%, from an average of
ZW$3,825.12 per US dollar during the previous week to ZW$5,979.18 per US dollar, during the
week ending 16 June 2023, as shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Selected Exchange Rates (ZW$ per unit of foreign currency)

USD
ZAR
GBP
BWP
EURO
Weekly Average (05-09 June)

12-June

13-June

14-June

15-June

16-June

Weekly Average (12-16 June)

Appr (-)/Depr (+) (%) of the ZWL

Source: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 2023


7. EQUITY MARKETS

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange

During the week ending 16th June 2023, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) maintained a
positive momentum for the ninth consecutive week, with the ZSE All Share index gaining 5,96%
to close the week at 186 269.59 points.

The Top 10, Top 15, Small and Medium Cap indices rose by 1.92%, 5.22%, 12.60% and 21.77%
to close the week at 112 408.54 points, 134 056.92 points, 1 127 400.66 points and 357 851.06
points, respectively. The resource index, however, remained unchanged at 66 955.19 points,
during the week under analysis.

The increase in the mainstream index was a result of share price increases in FBC Holdings
Limited (101.10%), CBZ Holdings Limited (61.07%), Afdis Limited (57.45%), CFI Holdings
Limited (52.08%) and First Mutual Properties Limited (52.00%).

Partially offsetting the increases were declines in share prices of Tanganda Tea Company Limited
(11.17%), Meikles Limited (10.61%), First Mutual Holdings Limited (6.71%), Econet Wireless
Zimbabwe Limited (4.77%) and OK Zimbabwe Limited (2.14%).

Table 8: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Statistics

All Share
Index
Points
Top 10
index3
(points)

Top 15
Index3
points


Medium
Cap3 (points)


Small Cap3
(points)

Mining
Index
(points)
Grand
Market
Capitaliza
tion
(ZWL
billion)
Market
Turnover
(ZWL
million)
The
volum
e of
Shares
(millio
n)
30-May-


31-May-


1-Jun-23

2-June-23 112,615.44

9-June-23 175,785.58
110,293.27
127,407.23 293,876.79
1,001,260.16 66,955.19 14,618.47 41,049.59 75,40
16-June23 186,269.59

Change


4.78
-67.24
-49.25
Source: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), 2023


Figure 3 shows the trend in daily market turnover for the period from 5th May 2022 to 16th June
2023.

Figure 3: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange All Share and Top 10 Indices

Source: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, 2023

Market Turnover and Volume

The cumulative volume and value of shares traded declined by 49.25% and 67.24% to 38.26
million shares and ZW$13.45 billion, respectively. This compares to 75.40 million shares and
ZW$41.05 billion recorded in the prior week. Figure 4 shows the trend in daily market turnover
for the period from 21st June 2022 to 16th June 2023.
Figure 1: Daily Market Turnover

Source: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, 2023


4-May-22
28-May-22
21-Jun-22
15-Jul-22
8-Aug-22
1-Sep-22
25-Sep-22
19-Oct-22
12-Nov-22
6-Dec-22
30-Dec-22
23-Jan-23
16-Feb-23
12-Mar-23
5-Apr-23
29-Apr-23
23-May-23
16-Jun-23
All Share Index
Top 10 Index


21-Jun-22
15-Jul-22
08-Aug-22
01-Sep-22
25-Sep-22
19-Oct-22
12-Nov-22
06-Dec-22
30-Dec-22
23-Jan-23
16-Feb-23
12-Mar-23
05-Apr-23
29-Apr-23
23-May-23
16-Jun-23
ZW$ millions
Negotiated deal: 61.16 million Larfage
Cement
Zimbabwe
Limited
shares
exchanged hands at ZW$312.65
Notable Trades: 31.45 million Ariston
Holdings Limited shares and 4.26
million Delta Holdings Limited shares
exchanged hands at ZW$15.02/share

Market Capitalization


In line with developments on the ZSE, market capitalization rose by 4.78%, or ZW$698.58
billion worth of capitalization to close at ZW$15 317.05 billion, compared to the previous week’s
position of ZW$14 618.47 billion. Figure 5 shows ZSE market capitalization developments for
the period from 21st April 2022 to 16th June 2023.

Figure 2: Daily Market Capitalization in ZW$ billions
Source: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, 2023


Victoria Falls Stock Exchange


The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) was characterised by bearish trading during the week
ending 16th June 2023. Resultantly, the VFEX All Share index lost 1.05% to close at 79.33 points,
compared to 80.18 points recorded in the previous week.

The decline in the VFEX mainstream index was a result of share price losses in First Capital
Bank Limited (7.69%), Innscor Africa Limited (6.39%) and SeedCo International (3.57%).


21-Jun-22
15-Jul-22
08-Aug-22
01-Sep-22
25-Sep-22
19-Oct-22
12-Nov-22
06-Dec-22
30-Dec-22
23-Jan-23
16-Feb-23
12-Mar-23
05-Apr-23
29-Apr-23
23-May-23
16-Jun-23
BILLIONS

Partially offsetting the abovementioned share price losses were gains in the share prices of
Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) (19.05%), Axia Corporation Limited (13.33%) and Africa
Sun Limited (0.29%).

The VFEX cumulative volume and value of shares traded declined by 78.49% and 87.68% to
0.49 million shares and US$0.13 million, respectively. This is in comparison to 2.28 million
shares and US$ 1.09 million registered in the previous week, respectively. Market capitalization,
declined by 1.05%, or US$0.14 million worth of capitalization to close at US$1.34 billion,
compared to US$1.35 billion registered in the previous week. Figure 6 shows the trend in the
VFEX All Share Index (ASI) for the period from 4th April 2022 to 16th June 2023.

Figure 3: Victoria Falls Stock Exchange All Share Index
Source: Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, 2023


Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Developments

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) All-share index was 2.07% higher to close at 78,531.81
points during the week under analysis. JSE market capitalization also increased by 2.36% to
close at ZAR22.16 trillion during the same period.

04-May-22
28-May-22
21-Jun-22
15-Jul-22
08-Aug-22
01-Sep-22
25-Sep-22
19-Oct-22
12-Nov-22
06-Dec-22
30-Dec-22
23-Jan-23
16-Feb-23
12-Mar-23
05-Apr-23
29-Apr-23
23-May-23
16-Jun-23

Table 1: Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Statistics
Period
All Share Index
Market Capitalization
(points)
(ZAR trillions)
30-May-23
75,939.46
22.34
31-May-23
75067.47
22.35
1-June-23
75783.25
22.49
2-June-23
77,126.06
21.97
9-June-23
76,936.11
21.65
16-June-23
78,531.81
22.16
% Change
2.07
2.36
Source: 2023

Figure 4: Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) All Share Index
Source:


28-May-22
21-Jun-22
15-Jul-22
8-Aug-22
1-Sep-22
25-Sep-22
19-Oct-22
12-Nov-22
6-Dec-22
30-Dec-22
23-Jan-23
16-Feb-23
12-Mar-23
5-Apr-23
29-Apr-23
23-May-23
16-Jun-23

8.
GOLD COINS

A total amount of ZW$45.46 billion had been purchased in respect of the gold-backed digital
coins by the 16th of June 2023.

Table 10: Digital Gold-Backed Coin Purchases (Volume and Value) As at 16 June 2023

Date
Number
of Bids
Received
Value of Bids
Received
Amount Allotted
Price per
Milligram of
Gold


ZWL


RBZ GOLD-BACKED DIGITAL
TOKENS ISSUE NO. 3/2023
26-May-23

8,500,033,263
8,500,033,263
152,46
RBZ GOLD-BACKED DIGITAL
TOKENS ISSUE NO. 4/2023
01-Jun-23

4,516,617,361
4,516,617,361
207,79
RBZ GOLD-BACKED DIGITAL
TOKENS ISSUE NO. 5/2023
08-Jun-23

7,214,378,573
7,214,378,573
388,01
RBZ GOLD-BACKED DIGITAL
TOKENS ISSUE NO. 6/2023
16-Jun-23

3,089,515,828
3,089,515,828
473,87
Total ZWL

45,461,019,476

45,461,019,476


9. COMMODITY PRICES AND EXCHANGE RATE STABILITY


Mineral commodity exports are the main driver of the country’s exports. The country’s total
foreign currency inflows increased from US$5.48 billion in 2019 to US$11.6 billion in 2022,
largely driven by mining sector exports and remittances. The stability of the exchange rate is,
therefore, dependent on the performance of commodity exports to a significant extent. The
mineral commodities, which constitute the country’s export basket include gold, diamond,
Platinum Group of Metals (PGMs) made up of platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel.
The share of mineral exports to total exports increased from 48% in 2009 to 80% in 2022 as
shown in Figure 8. In terms of the composition of the mineral exports in 2022, PGMs contributed
39.9%; gold, 35,9%; diamond, 2.8%; nickel, 1.1% and others 20.3%. The increase in the
proportion of mineral exports in total exports partly reflects growth of the mining sector.

Figure 8: Export composition by sector


The increased contribution of mineral exports in the economy entails that the country’s periodic
foreign currency inflows would be tied to the movement in international commodity prices. As
such adverse international commodity price shocks would have negative effects on foreign
currency inflows for the country, with negative implications on the domestic supply of foreign
currency and exchange rate stability. The prices of most mineral commodities have been trending
downwardly since 2022, with the declines becoming more pronounced in the recent past. This is
clearly notable for platinum, palladium, rhodium, copper and nickel whose price trends are
shown in Figure 9 below.

Figure 9: Commodity Price Developments (June 2018- June 2023)


It is clear from Figure 9 that the sustenance of the contribution of the mining sector exports to
total forex earnings was partly driven by increased production and volume of exports and the
performance of gold exports, whose price had marginal increases over the period. The downward
trends in the price of key mineral commodities temporarily weighed down on the sector’s
potential contribution towards export earnings. This development exerted some pressures on the
exchange rate witnessed in the recent months. Foreign Exchange inflows on other foreign
exchange generating categories have, however, offset the decline.

As a result, the foreign exchange receipts trend is still positive with US$4.64 billion having been
received for the 5 months to May 2023 compared to US$4.45 billion received during the
compared period in 2022. As a result, the positive foreign exchange receipts are expected to
strengthen stability in the exchange rate supported by an adroit monetary policy stance being
pursued by the Bank and Government.


RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE


2 Main Foreign Currency Auction (MAINFX). The Auction is conducted every Tuesday.
3 Wholesale Foreign Currency Auction (Wholesale FX). The RBZ Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) statement dated 6 June 2023 resolved that with effect from 7 June 2023, the Bank shall sell foreign currency at the
market-determined exchange rate through banks to support and strengthen the foreign exchange interbank market, and banks shall in turn sell the foreign currency to their customers.

Purpose
MAINFX
26-May-23 2-June-23 9-June-23 16-June-23
Raw Materials

Machinery and Equipment

Consumables
(Incl. Spares, Tyres,
Packaging)

Pharmaceuticals and
Chemicals

Services (Loans, Dividends
and Disinvestments)

Retail and Distribution

1,532,656,21
200,497.47
142,263.37
Fuel, Electricity and Gas
-
-


Paper and Packaging

TOTAL

Source: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 2023

APPENDIX 2: SUMMARY OF FOREIGN CUR RENCY AUCTION ALLOTM E NTS BY PURPOSE