By Angela Moonga
The Zambian Kwacha emerged as Africa’s best-performing currency in May, followed by the Egyptian pound and the Namibian dollar, according to Nigeria’s The Sun newspaper.
The newspaper stated that the other currencies that made the top 10 list were South Africa’s Rand, the Seychellois Rupee, Eswatini’s Liangeni, Lesotho’s Loti, Botswana’s Pula, the Congolese Franc, and Morocco’s Dirham.
The Zambian Kwacha is likely that positive streak, given the further appreciations already in the month of June.
The Kwacha was trading at around K17.6 to US$1 yesterday, and at K20 to the Euro. The local currency was pegged at around K23 to the British Pound.
The Kwacha is now almost trading at parity with regional powerhouse, the South African Rand.
The appreciation is coming on the heels of other improved economic fundamentals such as the reduced inflation rate at 6.60%, and the Monetary Policy at 13.25%
But The Sun stated that despite a relatively stable foreign exchange market and a significant increase in the country’s external reserves, the naira narrowly missed out on the list of Africa’s 10 best-performing currencies in the month of May.
But according to The Sun, data compiled from African central banks showed that the naira ranked 12th on the continent after appreciating by 0.15 per cent against the U.S dollar during the month. The local currency strengthened to N1,372/$ at the end of May from N1,374/$ at the beginning of the month.
While the gain was modest compared to the continent’s top performers, experts say the naira’s stability reflects improving market conditions and reduced volatility in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.
“The Zambian kwacha emerged as Africa’s best-performing currency in May, followed by the Egyptian pound and the Namibian dollar. Other currencies that made the top 10 list were South Africa’s rand, the Seychellois rupee, Eswatini’s lilangeni, Lesotho’s loti, Botswana’s pula, the Congolese franc, and Morocco’s dirham,” stated the Sun.
The Sun stated that Nigeria’s ranking comes at a time when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues efforts to deepen liquidity in the foreign exchange market and sustain confidence among investors. One of the major factors supporting the naira during the review period was the growth in the country’s external reserves.
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