Auction sees $63 exchange rate

THE ruling exchange rate for the dollar US eased upwards just over 10 percent to Z$63,7442:US$1 in the second weekly auction on Tuesday, promising growing stability in foreign currency markets as the new system becomes entrenched. This week saw 316 bidders, more than three times as many who took part in the first auction. The gap between the highest and lowest bids was still wide, but far less than the range since last week in the first auction. The top bidder put up $92 for a

US dollar while the lowest bidder offered $37,82, a gap of $54,18, compared to the gap of $74,50 last week between a high of $100 and a low of $25.50. The gap between highest and lowest bids is expected to continuously narrow as bidders learn from experience and learn to read the market trends better.