THE Zambian Kwacha has gained ground, helped by mining houses offloading dollars mainly to settle their monthend obligations.

This is according to Barclays Bank Zambia Daily Market Update.

At close of trade on Wednesday, commercial banks quoted the Kwacha at K11.92/11.97 per dollar, compared with Tuesday’s close of K11.95/12.00.

“The market was driven by healthy dollar inflows with some demand seen in the afternoon session from the Energy sector. The local unit was up 3 ngwee on a close to close basis and is still expected to trade steady in the near term,” Barclays said.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s rand was largely flat in afternoon dealings on Wednesday, recouping the bulk of losses suffered after finance minister Tito Mboweni presented the annual national budget.

The update explained that after an initial negative reaction to the budget, the currency settled down as traders assessed its impact on South Africa’s sovereign credit ratings.

Mr Mboweni unveiled a US $5 billion injection over coming years into cash-strapped utility Eskom in his maiden budget that also forecast wider deficits, rising debt and slower economic growth.

“On the bourse stocks hardly reacted to the budget as most heavily weighted companies earn more of their income abroad than at home,” the bank said.

Meanwhile, Zambia’s liquidity remained high in the market while interbank traded volumes were relatively muted.

Investor focus has shifted to tomorrow’s bond auction which should be well supported by the high Market liquidity.

On the fixed income, market remained subdued with indicative rates ranging between 22-24 percent.

“We anticipate more activity at the end of the week as investors prepare for the upcoming auction,” Barclays Bank said.