The Ethiopian birr was reported to be the weakest performer over the previous 12 months among 23 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg, as the currency traded near record-low levels against the US dollar.
Bloomberg’s financial market data showed the birr trading at around 162 per dollar, while Bloomberg reported that Ethiopia had spent about USD 2.2 billion in 2026 in an effort to support the currency.
Against that backdrop, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) held a USD 500 million special foreign exchange auction on August 20, outside its previously announced first-quarter auction calendar.
RELATED POSTS
Banks submitted bids totaling USD 710.14 million, about 1.4 times the amount allotted. Twenty-two banks participated, with 21 securing foreign currency. The weighted-average exchange rate stood at 160.2144 birr per US dollar, while the marginal cut-off rate was 160.2121 birr. Bids ranged between 159.5003 and 160.2500 birr per dollar.
The birr strengthened by about one percent in the central bank’s auction compared with the previous regular sale eight days earlier. On August 12, the NBE allotted USD 125 million after receiving USD 470.17 million in bids, equivalent to about 3.8 times the amount available. The weighted-average exchange rate was 161.7994 birr per dollar, compared with 160.2144 birr in the August 20 special auction.
The allocation of funds widened sharply. Only nine of 28 banks participating in the August 12 auction secured foreign currency, compared with 21 of 22 banks in Thursday’s special auction.
The August 20 auction was not included in the quarterly calendar announced by the NBE in July, under which four regular auctions of USD 125 million each were scheduled for August 12, August 26, September 9, and September 23.
The USD 500 million allotted in the special auction equals the total amount the central bank had separately scheduled across all four regular auctions for the quarter.
