Flour price go up.  The price of bread is likely to go up after flour prices rose by 10% yesterday. This comes after the Grain Marketing Board increased its wheat prices to millers by 8% from $239 360 to $258 416 per tonne. In a statement yesterday, the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) also announced a 10% review in the price of bread flour, a move likely to increase the price of bread which is now beyond the reach of many. GMAZ spokesperson Andrew Kunambura said the decision was made after noting serious inflationary headwinds in the industry. “The milling industry continues to face serious inflationary headwinds, which includes the finance cost occasioned by the increase in interest rates from 100% to 200% and the increase in the local wheat price from GMB to millers by 8%,” Kunambura said. “The interbank exchange rate has moved up by 5.5% from US$1:$362,6 to US$1:$382,5. The currency devaluation has severely impacted the general operating costs.                                      

Foreign suppliers demand cash upfront                 Foreign suppliers have started turning down credit facilities to Zimbabwean companies overwhelmed by payment delays, pushing industries deeper into crisis. At the heart of the fresh crisis revealed by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) on Monday, are backlogs of funds allocated to companies at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s foreign currency auction, ZNCC president Mike Kamungeremu told Parliament. Introduced in 2020 to ameliorate a dire foreign currency crisis in Zimbabwe, where firms have been forced to source greenbacks from the black market, the auction system initially offered hope. Up to US$45 million was being raised weekly with RBZ saying that about US$12 billion has been injected into the economy through the system. However, in the past year, the central bank has struggled to fund allocated bids, triggering a crisis that the industry now says could end with many bankruptcies.

"The ZSE remained in negative territory amid mid-week trades."

The mainstream All Share Index continued to trade in the red, weighed down by losses in blue chips and mid-cap equities. The local exchange dropped 2.65 percent, while its Top 10 index dipped 2.48 percent. The Small Cap index, on the other hand, advanced 2.50 percent to close at 523,465.45. The stock market recorded a 47 percent drop in transaction activity, with 24.2 million shares worth $436.6 million changing hands. Econet dominated both the volume and value rankings, with 1.5 million shares exchanging hands for $174 million (40 percent of value). Other noteworthy trades were recorded in Delta as $101 million worth of shares exchanged hands. The conglomerate Innscor traded $87.5 million worth of shares. Top gainers of the session were Zimpapers, which rose 14.96 percent, Zimplow, which rose 12.56 percent, and Truworths, which rose 5.94 percent. ZHL continues to drive the insurance index higher, rising 5.21 percent to close at $4.18. Mash rose 10.14 percent to $4.80.

Meanwhile, Meikles and SeedCo dragged the Top 10 index down, shedding 14.54 percent and 13.97 percent, respectively. Ariston sank 13.77 percent to $2.39 at the closing.

No trades were recorded on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange