ZAMBIAN CURRENCY FALLS AT FOREIGN EXCHANGE AUCTION The Zambian currency further depreciated yesterday at the second auction since the introduction of a two-tier foreign exchange system last month. The (central) Bank of Zambia said the kwacha was pegged at 16.99 to the dollar, compared to last week"s rate of 15 to the dollar. The bank, which offered six mln dlrs at the auction, reported demand for 13.4 mln dlrs. At the previous auction, the government offered eight mln dlrs. Last month the government set a fixed exchange rate of nine kwacha per dollar, subject to adjustment against a basket of five currencies, for certain official transactions. It also introduced a new weekly foreign exchange auction only for parastatal organisations and the private sector, where the exchange rate is allowed to float in accordance with market demand. The new auction system is designed to be more restrictive than the previous one, suspended in January after the central bank fell 10 weeks in arrears to successful bidders. Under the new system, no bidder, except the the state oil company Zimoil and the national airline Zambia Airways, is allowed to bid for more than five pct of the foreign exchange on offer.