Zimbabwe’s foreign currency reserves backing the ZiG increased to US$1.7 billion as of July 2026, providing the country with approximately 1.7 months of import cover, latest data shows.

According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu, the growth in foreign currency reserves was supported by royalties in-kind from precious metals and the channelling of a 5% portion from the surrender requirements towards reserves build-up.

“At 1.7 months’ import cover, the foreign currency reserves adequately covered the entire ZiG deposit base by almost 1.5 times as at the end of July 2026 and the stock of reserve money by six times,” Dr Mushayavanhu said in the 2026 Mid-Term Monetary Policy Statement.

He said the reserves are a reflection of increased foreign exchange inflows.

“The foreign currency reserves supported the Reserve Bank’s strategic intervention in the interbank foreign exchange market, ensuring that all bona fide foreign payments are met,” he said.

He added that the intervention supported stable exchange rate dynamics, with the ZiG/US$ exchange rate ranging between ZiG25 and ZiG27 per US dollar and the parallel market premium contained at levels of 15%, on average, during the first half of 2026.

This comes as foreign currency inflows increased by 47.8% to US$10.72 billion during the first half of the year, compared to US$7.25 billion recorded over the same period in 2025.

The higher foreign currency inflows exceeded the cumulative foreign currency payments of US$7.30 billion, recorded between January and June 2026, according to the RBZ.

Export proceeds accounted for the largest share of the increase in foreign currency receipts, increasing by 90,7% to US$7.53 billion from US$3.95 billion during the same period in 2025.

Export earnings represented 70.3% of total foreign currency inflows, highlighting the continued importance of the export sector as the economy’s principal source of foreign currency liquidity.

Mining remained the dominant contributor to export growth, with earnings surging 121.3% to US$6.21 billion from US$2.81 billion recorded in the corresponding period last year.