A TOTAL of US$49,1 million has been allotted at the foreign currency exchange auction conducted on Tuesday where the local dollar traded at 85,82 against the United States dollar from 85,74 last week.

In a trading update, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe also indicated that the bulk of the forex allotted at the auction platform continues to be channelled towards raw material procurement followed by machinery and equipment acquisition. The main auction was allotted US$16 million for raw material procurement while the Small to Medium
Enterprises auction got US$2,6 million.

A total of US$8,7 million was channeled towards the main auction for machinery and equipment procurement while US$2,9 million went to the SMEs auction. Other allocations were made for consumables such as spares, tyres and electricals, as well as retail and distribution, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fuel, electricity and gas.-chronicle.l.zw