By Cecilia Chiluba 
A Commercial Bank says the Kwacha is likely to remain stable in the near term, amid continued support from the Bank of Zambia.
In its Daily Treasury Newsletter, ZANACO observed that the local unit remained steady against the US dollar on Wednesday due to elevated supply of the greenback.
It noted that market demand for the dollar was partially cushioned by the selling of the greenback by the Central Bank.
“Opening the day at K23.750/23.800 to the dollar, the Kwacha traded unchanged until close of business on the bid and offer respectively,” the bank noted.
On Friday, the local currency opened the market trading at 23.820/24.153 on the bid and offer respectively.
The Bank further stated that Local currency liquidity stood at K6,731.58 million, while overnight Interbank activity was K425.00 million.
“The weighted cost of the overnight interbank funds was 14.50%. The Bank of Zambia did not conduct Open Market Operations,” it said.
Meanwhile, Gold extended its record-breaking rally on week low on Wednesday, powered by softer U.S. jobs data that reinforced expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this month, while lingering global uncertainties kept safe haven demand firmly in play.
According to Reuters, Spot Gold was up 1.2% at $1.3416 per ounce by 2:25 p.m. ED, after hitting a record high of $3,578.50.
News Desk 
Lucky Chama