UPDATE 1-Zimbabwe holds interest rate at first policy meeting since currency launch

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JOHANNESBURG, April 29 (Reuters) -

Zimbabwe's central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at 20% at its first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting since it launched a new currency, it said on Monday.

Earlier this month the country

replaced

its collapsing currency with a new one called Zimbabwe Gold or ZiG that it hopes will be more stable and help bring down inflation.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said in a statement that the MPC meeting on April 26 emphasised the need to work closely with the government to encourage increased use of the new currency.

The bulk of transactions in Zimbabwe are conducted in foreign currencies, after the country's previous local currency struggled to win public trust following its launch in 2019.

(Reporting by Nellie Peyton Editing by Alexander Winning)