2024-07-30 13:03:29
Ethiopia’s central bank said Monday it would ease restrictions on its foreign exchange regime, a move that has sent the local currency tumbling by about 30 percent.
The move was unveiled as the country, which is suffering from a deep debt crisis, awaits a deal worth hundreds of billions of dollars to obtain much-needed financing from the International Monetary Fund after difficult and protracted negotiations.
There has been widespread speculation that Ethiopia, where the state controls the economy largely, will have to devalue its currency, the birr, as a condition for IMF support. The National Bank of Ethiopia has announced a series of foreign exchange reforms that it says include major new policy changes.
The bank said in a statement that the first step would be to move to a market-based exchange rate system. It added that banks would thus be allowed to buy and sell foreign currencies to and from their clients and among themselves at freely negotiated prices, with the National Bank of Ethiopia intervening only to a limited extent to support the market initially and if justified by unregulated market conditions.
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia said in a statement posted on its Twitter account that the dollar is being bought at 74.73 birr and sold at 76.23. The buying price on Friday was 57.48 and the selling price was 58.64.
Last updated: July 29, 2024 – 18:30
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2024-07-30 13:03:29