Falling reserves raise fears of pula framework change :: Mmegi Online

Market watchers have warned that the country may be forced to adjust the crawling peg, the current exchange rate system used to manage the pula, as foreign reserves continue to plummet due to the prolonged diamond downturn.

The countries foreign exchange reserves reached $3.5 billion in April in comparison to record highs of $10.3 billion in 2008. This steep downfall has meant that the country’s fiscal planners have less wiggle room to sell the pula and buy other currencies in an attempt to defend the value of the pula and maintain constant supply of foreign currency to banks and traders.

In their second quarter economic review, researchers at Econsult, a local firm led by prominent economist Keith Jefferis, warned that the trajectory of the foreign reserves suggested a review of the crawling peg system that is currently being used to give the pula nominal value.