Zimbabwe says it will introduce gold coins later this month as it tries to curb soaring inflation amid a slump in its currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The country\u2019s central bank also outlined plans to make the US dollar legal tender for the next five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The central bank\u2019s main interest rate was more than doubled this month to 200%, after the annual rate of inflation rose above 190%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zimbabwe\u2019s dollar has slumped in value against major currencies this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The gold coins, which will contain one troy ounce of 22-carat gold, will be available from 25 July, John P Mangudya, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ALSO READ:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A troy ounce is a unit of measure used for weighing precious metal \u2013 such as gold, silver and platinum \u2013 that dates back to the Middle Ages. One troy ounce is equal to 31.10g.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe gold coins will be available for sale to the public in both local currency and US dollars and other foreign currencies at a price based on the prevailing international price of gold and the cost production,\u201d Mr Mangudya added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The statement also said each coin will be identified with a serial number and can be easily converted to cash, locally and internationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It will be called the \u201cMosi-oa-Tunya Gold Coin\u201d, which means \u201cThe Smoke Which Thunders,\u201d a reference to Victoria Falls that is located on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The announcement is part of the Zimbabwe government\u2019s measures to tackle the country\u2019s currency crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month, the annual rate of inflation hit 191.6%, while the Zimbabwean dollar has lost more than two-thirds of its value against the US dollar since the start of 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From 1 July the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe\u2019s main interest rate was raised from 80% to 200% a year, in a bid to deal with the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soaring inflation has piled pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a country that still remembers the economic chaos under Robert Mugabe\u2019s almost four decades of rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyperinflation forced the country to abandon the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009, and it opted instead to use foreign currencies, mainly the US dollar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the worst of the crisis the government stopped publishing official inflation figures but one estimate put the inflation rate at 89.7 sextillion percent year-on-year in mid-November 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time, the one hundred billion Zimbabwe dollar bank note was seen as an emblem of the nation\u2019s economic collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The local currency was reintroduced a decade later but it has rapidly lost value again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n