Zimbabwe intends to keep its local currency as legal tender despite the USD being the currency of choice for most transactions. The currency has lost over 40% of its value on the official market this year, trading officially at 1,000 Zimbabwean dollars per USD and between 1,400 to 1,800 on the parallel market. The authorities see the widespread use of the USD as a means of accessing foreign currency as they are ineligible to access credit from multilateral financial institutions due to the country’s USD 14 bln debt.