HARARE – Zimbabwe’s gold-backed currency the ZiG weakened for the first time since its debut earlier this month.
The currency traded almost 1% weaker at 13.38 per dollar on Thursday compared with a day earlier, central bank data shows, tracking the decline in the gold price. The metal has fallen in the past three days.
The ZiG, short for Zimbabwe Gold, is backed by a basket of precious metals including about 2.5 tons of gold and $100 million of foreign currency reserves held by the central bank.
It started trading at 13.56 on April 8 when it replaced the Zimbabwean dollar, which had lost about 80% of its value against the US currency since the start of the year.
Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga told a business conference Wednesday in Bulawayo that the ZiG is a step toward abandoning the use of US dollars in the economy.
Dollars, which will no longer be accepted as legal tender in Zimbabwe from 2030, are currently used in around 80% of transactions.
