The Zimbabwe dollar strengthened against the United States dollar for the second week running, gaining 0,7 percent to 82.70 at yesterday’s foreign currency auction on from 83.32 previously.

In the latest auction, the top bid on the main auction moved back to $88 from $87,50 previously, while the bottom bid went to $75 from $76 last week, as some bidders continue to seek out a bargain.

For the SMEs auction, the highest bid was $86, while the lowest accepted bid held at $73.

216 bids were made on the main auction, of which 31 were ruled invalid as they did not meet the central bank’s set criteria. On the SMEs board 74 bids were made, of which 15 were disqualified.

Total allocations for the latest auction amounted to US$19,21 million.

The main auction accounted for the bulk at US$18, 3 million, while the allocation for SMEs totalled US$876 674.

A large portion of the forex allocations went to raw materials at US$8,7 million for the main auction, and US$255 701 for SMEs. Equipment took up US$3, 3 million on the main board and US$226 347 for SMEs. Consumables got US$2, 2 million on the main auction, and US$218 332 for the smaller firms.