Zimbabweans drove the country's main stock index up 600% this year, in a frantic rush to protect their savings from a collapsing currency, as shown by the Bloomberg exchange index.
The exchange in Harare, the nation's capital, briefly suspended trading this week, when the stock index spiked beyond the 10-percent limit imposed in April, the press revealed.
According to Thedias Kasaira, managing director at Imara Edwards Securities, Zimbabwe's oldest brokerage, this surge is being caused by "some liquidity in the market."
"The exchange rate has been going one way and we are expecting this trend to continue," Kasaira added.
The country's website monitoring exchange rates showed that the local currency has plunged by nearly 60% this month alone. Whereas the US dollar is officially valued at 3,673 Zimbabwean dollars, it sells for anywhere between Z$3,900 and Z$4,300 on the black market.
Earlier in May, in an attempt to curb the currency's decline, the country's government announced a series of reforms that included full withholding of domestic foreign exchange earnings and the acceptance of all foreign loans by the Treasury, instead of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
According to Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, the reforms were initiated amid domestic inflation, triggered by demand for US dollars as a safe haven.
Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank also announced the release of a new gold-backed digital national currency to stem demand for the greenback.