Over 90% of Bureau trade is done in the US dollar – Bureau President

The Zambian Kwacha has in recent past […]

The Zambian Kwacha has in recent past seen positive gains against the US dollar with the Bank of Zambia in Q1 reporting a gain of about 14%, however recent report from the Stockbrokers Zambia report show a depreciation of 0.46%.

 According to the Stockbrokers Zambia Weekly Equity report for the market period ended 21 August 2026 the Kwacha is reported to have depreciated against major currencies like EUR by 1.44%, ZAR (1.49% and the US dollar by 0.46%.

A check by the Zambian Business Times ZBT on the foreign exchange revealed that the Kwacha/US dollar as at 28, August, 2026, was buying at K18.96/$, mid rate stood at K18.98 and was selling at K19/ US dollar.

 The Association of Bureau De Change President Paul Kalumba has told Zambia Business Times-ZBT in an interview that the 0.5% Kwacha depreciation against the US dollar is a normal movement as it hardly holds adverse impact on the Bureau sector.

“As you know we are coming from an era where the currency could move 2-3% in a day, and that’s why 0.5% movement is what is expected as it is considered to be minimal,” said Kalumba. He added that Zambia’s benchmark currency in terms of foreign exchange is the US dollar, as over 90% of the Bureau trade happens in US dollars.

“Over 90% of the Bureau trade happens in the US dollars, so any other currency is inside the 10% therefore what is happening is that the depreciation seen will not have material effect in the Bureau Sector,” said Kalumba.

 He mentioned that the Bureau sector is only affected when the Kwacha depreciates against the US dollar by a percentage above 1%. “When there is adverse movement on the US dollar which is above 1% the Bureau sector gets affected, because depreciation and appreciation normally occurs, but if it happens below 1% it’s considered to be normal and the sector only begins to struggle if the percentage starts going above 2-3% movement in a day as it becomes quite substantial,” said Kalumba.

Article by Justine Phiri