Ethiopian Birr Falls to New Low Against Dollar in Black Market
Ethiopian Birr has fallen to a new low against US Dollar in black market. The USD/ETB black-market rate has climbed sharply to 160.75 Br/USD, up 0.37% . This marks a significant rise from around 157 Br just two days ago.
In late May, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) expanded FX access—raising personal travel limits to $10K and business travel to $15K, while capping bank FX fees at 4%. This move brought a two-week stabilization in black-market rates, which seems to be ending now.
The NBE has maintained a schedule of bimonthly FX auctions to supply foreign currency:
June 5: $50M sold at 134.95 Br/USD
June 19: $50–60M latest auction cleared at 136.63 Br/USD
While these interventions signal proactive policy, the official rate remains ~24 Birr cheaper than the parallel market, limiting their impact on alleviating informal shortages. Without substantial supply or policy shifts, black-market rate is expected to gravitate toward 165+ Br/USD in the near term.
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