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Michael Makuza, Business Reporter

THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has allotted US$18,2 million to businesses at the Foreign Currency Auction System this week amid the weakening value of the local currency against the United States dollar, which is now trading at US$1: ZWL$801 from US$1:ZWL$779.

When the auction system closed in mid-December for the festive holiday season, the official exchange rate was pegged at US$1: ZWL$671,4.

The Auction System resumed trading three weeks ago with the official rate pegged at US$1: ZWL$705 and has since moved upwards to ZWL$732, ZWL$779, and ZWL$801 respectively.

In the latest update after Tuesday’s auction, the RBZ said a total of US$16,4 million was allotted for the main auction and US$1,8 million for the Small to Medium Enterprises sector, making it a total of US$18,2 million.

At this week’s results, the main auction accepted bids worth US$23,9 million while the SMEs platform accepted US$2,9 million. This week’s auction results saw much of the foreign currency allotted going toward the procurement of raw materials, machinery, and equipment as has been the tradition.

A total of US$9,031 million went towards the procurement of raw materials while US$2,249 million was channeled to the procurement of machinery and equipment in the main auction.

In the SME category, US$539,931 went towards raw materials while US$531,593 was for machinery and equipment procurement.