Harare is Zimbabwe's leading financial, commercial, and communications centre, as well as an international trade centre for tobacco, maize, cotton, and citrus fruits. Manufacturing, including textiles, steel, and chemicals, are also economically significant, as is the trade of precious minerals such as gold, diamonds, chrome and platinum. It has also experienced a real estate boom recently, particularly in the wealthy Northern suburbs, with prices rising dramatically over the last decade, despite challenges in other sectors of the economy. This boom has largely been fueled by members of the Zimbabwean diaspora and speculation, with investors hedging against the local currency. However the once booming market has begun to cool off due to a 2019 hike in interest rates and the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving a number of projects unfinished.