Inflation re-ignites local bourse

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THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) gained 29 percent in September to recover from a three percent loss in August, as inflation increased for the first time since January, amid foreign currency disbursement delays on the central bank’s auction system.

Since June, the market, which has rallied on the back of currency instability over the past few years, had slowed down due to sustained stability in the economy, with inflation having come down from 838 percent in July 2020 to 50 percent in August. But persistent delays in foreign currency disbursements have driven demand for hard cash on the parallel market, which reserve bank governor John Mangudya says has exaggerated a disparity between the official and grey market exchange rates.