Zimbabwe To Introduce Gold Coins As Local Currency Tumbles

• Zimbabwe's central bank said it would start selling gold coins this month as a store of value to tame runaway inflation, which has considerably weakened the local currency. The central bank governor John Mangudya said in a statement on July 5^th,2022, that the coins will be available for sale from July 25 in local currency, U.S. dollars, and other foreign currencies at a price based on the prevailing international price of gold and the cost of production. 
• Last week, Zimbabwe more than doubled its policy rate to 200% from 80% and outlined plans to make the U.S. dollar legal tender for the next five years to boost confidence. Soaring inflation in the southern African country has been piling pressure on a population already struggling with shortages and stirring memories of economic chaos years ago under veteran leader Robert Mugabe’s near four-decade rule. 
• Annual inflation, which hit almost 192% in June, cast a shadow over President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to revitalize the economy. Zimbabwe abandoned its inflation-ravaged dollar in 2009, opting instead to use foreign currencies, mostly the U.S. dollar. The government reintroduced the local currency in 2019, but it has rapidly lost value again.

(Source: Reuters )