ZIMBABWE\u2019s fuel import bill has gone down by US$102 million, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has said in its latest monthly review.<\/p>\n
The reduction according to the central bank signifies the commodity\u2019s reduced consumption attributed to a sharp decline in fuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cMerchandise imports registered a decline of 22.2% from US$458.6 million in June to US$357.0 million in July 2019. The decline was largely underpinned by lower imports of fuel, notably diesel and petrol,\u201d the report reads in part.<\/p>\n
During the period under review, the country\u2019s major import sources were, South Africa 41 %; Singapore 26 %; China 8 % Zambia 4 % and India 3%.<\/p>\n
The development comes at a time when fuel price increases have gone up by more than 1500% since January this year leaving many consumers with no choice except to cut down on consumption.<\/p>\n
According to the central bank\u2019s review, there has been a significant increase in exports, on the back of a slump in imports, which culminated in a significant improvement in the country\u2019s trade balance, from a deficit of minus US$219 million in June 2019, to a deficit of minus US$58 million.<\/p>\n
Notably, broad money supply grew by 82 % to $17.08 billion in July 2019, from $9.38 billion in July 2018, attributed in part to expansion in foreign currency accounts included in transferable deposits, owing to exchange rate depreciation.<\/p>\n
The report adds that the growth was reflective of increases in transferable deposits, 101 %; negotiable certificates of deposits (NCDs), 87.90%; time deposits, 9.28%; and currency in circulation, 8.87%.<\/p>\n
Added the report: \u201cFollowing the increase in money supply, credit to the private sector increased from $3.35 billion in July 2018 to $5.55 billion in July 2019. This translated to an annual increase of 52.09% in July 2019, compared to 16.13% recorded in June 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ZIMBABWE\u2019s fuel import bill has gone down by US$102 million, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has said in its latest monthly review. The reduction according to the central bank signifies the commodity\u2019s reduced consumption attributed to a sharp decline in fuel. \u201cMerchandise imports registered a decline of 22.2% from US$458.6 million in June to US$357.0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[130,450,631],"class_list":{"0":"post-14968","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-fuel","10":"tag-mangudya","11":"tag-reserve-bank-of-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\n