Birr Falls to Record Low against Dollar in Black Market
Ethiopian Birr today fell to record low against US dollar in black market. The Ethiopian government has taken a variety of steps in recent months to kill the foreign exchange parallel market.
The birr fell to 181.4 against US dollar on Wednesday November 19, 2025 in black market. While the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and other banks are selling US dollar for around 155 birr. Since July 2024, when the Ethiopian government introduced macro economic reforms and liberalized foreign exchange market, birr has been losing value against dollar. In July 2024, the official birr to dollar exchange rate was around 57 birr per dollar, but in black market it was around 120 birr per dollar.
The gap between black and open markets has been narrowed down. But the parallel market is still flourishing. Since the liberalization of foreign exchange market, the government has been launching crackdowns on illegal money transfer agents. This month, American Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI, at the request of the Ethiopian authorities, investigated 4 money transfer agents in Washington and Minneapolis area. The agents were allegedly involved in illegal money transfer to Ethiopia.
It seems that the Ethiopian government’s plans to completely kill foreign exchange black market are not working.
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