In a bizarre turn of events, Zimbabwe’s foreign currency reserves have magically tripled, with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) reporting a whopping US$731 million in reserves as of June 2025. This impressive growth has left many wondering if they’ve stumbled upon a gold mine (pun intended, given the country’s gold reserves).
The RBZ attributes this surge to improved mineral prices, especially gold, and diaspora remittances. Who knew sending money back home could be so lucrative? From January to May 2025, Zimbabwe recorded average monthly foreign currency inflows of US$1.2 billion, exceeding external payments of US$821 million, creating a healthy surplus averaging US$378 million.
The Zimbabwe Gold currency (ZiG), launched in April 2024, seems to be doing its job, with transactions peaking at 43% in May 2025. The RBZ’s efforts to boost local currency use, including increased circulation of notes and coins and rollout of Point-of-Sale machines, appear to be paying off.
But let’s not get too carried away – the ZiG still has a long way to go. The RBZ’s goal is to contain annual inflation below 30% by December 2025, and only time will tell if this miracle will last. 🤔
The numbers:
– US$731 million: June 2025 foreign currency reserves
– US$639 million: May 2025 foreign currency reserves
– US$276 million: April 2024 foreign currency reserves (when ZiG was launched)
– 43%: Peak ZiG transactions in May 2025
– 7.4%: June’s provisional growth in ZiG broad money supply
Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if this economic miracle continues!
end//..
