Archive note: Lusaka Brief launched in September 2026. This entry was added retrospectively so the record of a significant national moment is preserved. It is based on reporting and official statements that were publicly available at the time.
The kwacha touched about K18.07 to the US dollar in June — its strongest level in 34 months and a dramatic turnaround for a currency that traded far weaker through the debt default years.
Market participants credit a combination of factors: healthy copper export earnings, gross international reserves that have climbed to about US$6.5 billion, and improved investor sentiment since the completion of the debt restructuring.
A stronger kwacha feeds directly into the disinflation story: imported fuel, fertiliser and machinery all price off the exchange rate, and the currency's firmness has helped hold annual inflation at 6.5% — inside the Bank of Zambia's 6–8% target band.
The currency has also become campaign ammunition. The government presents the rally as proof its reforms work; the opposition counters that reserve accumulation and a strong currency mean little to households still facing high prices. Both things can be true — traders at Lusaka's COMESA market say the dollar rate is better, but maize, fuel and rent still bite.
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