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Apr 27 , 2025

Birr on the Rocks as Forex Auctions Chase Ghosts of Stability

Key Takeaways The Birr has been persistently weakening against the US dollar, despite changes in foreign exchange policy. Discrepancies between the NBE's auction prices and commercial banks' market rates reveal systemic tensions. Banks are using incentives like bonuses and premiums t...

Apr 19 , 2025

Birr Wobbles While Central Bank Whispers as Young Banks Break the Old Rules

Key Takeaways: The National Bank of Ethiopia's currency auctions emphasise efforts to stabilise a volatile financial environment. A split in strategy between newer and established banks reveals diverse approaches to currency valuation Fluctuations in the Birr indicate challenges in managing foreign currency amidst inflation and import shortages. The dual-track market shows a complex financial sector with decentralised price discovery. Touting what they call an “all-time high” stock of foreign exchange reserves, officials of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) unlea...


Apr 13 , 2025

Diverging Forex Rates Expose Liquidity Strains, Policy Inertia

The financial sector is experiencing sharp divisions among commercial banks as the Birr continues to depreciate rapidly against the U.S. Dollar. This widening gap reveals sharp differences between cautious established private banks, aggressive new entrants, and the conservative posturing of the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). The big five private banks — Awash, Abyssinia, Dashen, Wegagen, and Zemen — remain cautious players, deliberately avoiding crossing the psychological threshold of 129 Br for a dollar. Wegagen posted one cent short of this mark last week. According to...


Apr 6 , 2025

Banks Bid Low Confidence as Brewed Buck Burns

Key Takeaways: From 27 banks participating in February to 12 last week, the forex auction participation has almost halved. The Birr's buying rates averaged at 131 Br, with selling rates at 133 Br, showing continued depreciation. Lion Bank led the market with a buying rate of 131.10 Br, signalling aggressive positioning. Wide spreads in bank rates revealed severe foreign currency shortages and defense maneuvers against depreciation. The gap between official market exchange rates pointed to inefficient price discovery and rising economic challenges. The Birr (Brewed Buck) continued i...

Money Market Watch

Mar 30 , 2025

As the Birr Slips, Banks Maneuver Quietly While Policy Stands Still

The Birr (Brewed Buck) edged slightly to stability against the U.S. Dollar (Green Buck) last week, revealing modest shifts in a market often characterised by subtle moves rather than dramatic swings....

Mar 23 , 2025

CBE Fixed Rate Defies Market Trends as Private Banks Jostle for Scarce Forex

While most commercial banks slightly adjusted their exchange rates upward last week, the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has kept its buying rate fixed at 124 Birr for a dollar for nearl...

Mar 16 , 2025

Hijira, Lion Banks Push Limits as Brewed Buck Slips 2.1pc against the Dollar

An escalating divergence in the foreign exchange market is rattling confidence in the Birr, (Brewed Buck), as banks aggressively compete amid acute shortages of foreign currency. Despite recent interv...

Mar 9 , 2025

Banks Scramble for Dollars at Auctions, Shortchange Buyers on the Forex Market

The widening gap in foreign exchange rates among commercial banks fuelled tension in the forex market last week, as banks maneuvered to attract hard currency on the most favorable terms. Private banks...

Mar 2 , 2025

Forex Auctions Struggle to Stem Birrs Slide as Dollar Demand Surges

Monetary authorities moved to show their firepower last week, floating a special foreign exchange auction on February 25, 2025, offering 60 million dollars to commercial banks. “The auction follo...

Feb 23 , 2025

Birr Takes a Beating as Central Bank Sets Record Highs in Forex Market

It is official. The formal forex market has the private big five banks — Awash, Abyssinia, Dashen, Wegagen, and Zemen — offering buying rates for a dollar last week that exceeded the “psychologi...

Feb 16 , 2025

Hijira Bank Bets Big, Birr Shrinks Further, While Central Bank Watches

Hijira Bank startled the foreign exchange market last week, posting a buying rate of 126.2 Br for a dollar, outpacing every other commercial bank and setting a 2.19 Br premium over the state-owned Com...

Feb 9 , 2025

Hijira's Premium, Zemen's Bold Bet Enticing Forex Market

Last week, Hijira Bank posted a buying rate of 126.5 Br to the dollar, marking what industry observers described as a historic milestone. In an even more striking move, the Bank also offered the most...

Feb 1 , 2025

Banks Flinch, Central Bank Blinks, the Brewed Buck Burns

Birr (Brewed Buck) has been charting a steady course of depreciation against the Green Buck (U.S. Dollar) over six days beginning January 27, 2025. Although the rates across the banking industry gener...

When the Brewed Buck Bucks, Banks Play Tug-of-War in Forex Frenzy

The foreign exchange market has been quirky lately, marked by sudden shifts and divergent strategies among commercial banks and the Central Bank. Abay Bank (ABY) captured the limelight with an unex...

Jan 19 , 2025

As Brewed Buck Battles, Outliers Banks Dare, Regulators Glare, Forex Scarce

Last week's foreign exchange postings from commercial banks offered a revealing glimpse into currency market pressures. Most banks opted to keep their buying rates below the 125 Br mark, even as a han...

Jan 12 , 2025

Tsehays Dollar Dash, CBEs Poker Face, a Forex Market Dancing on Edge

The Brewed Buck's relentless downward drift against a basket of major currencies showed little sign of slowing as the new year began last week. The Birr's value against the Dollar was kept under 1...

Jan 5 , 2025

Forex Moves Test Market Boundaries While Caution Casts a Long Shadow

Last week, the foreign exchange market provided a window into the persistent tussle between policy objectives and market forces. An outlier emerged in Tsehay Bank, which decisively pushed past the 12...

Dec 29 , 2024

Tsehay Bank Breaks the Buck . . . And the Rules of Caution

Tsehay Bank rattled the foreign exchange market last week by offering a buying rate of over 125 Br to the U.S. Dollar, an unusual move attributed by industry observers to its executives' heightened sc...

Dec 22 , 2024

As Liquidity Dries Up, Forex Market Becomes a Battleground for Survival

The modest depreciation of the Birr last week has amplified pressure on the foreign exchange market, exposing underlying systemic vulnerabilities in liquidity management and the stability of the banki...

Dec 15 , 2024

Banks Tiptoe Around Forex Silent Rules, ShrinkingValues

Last week, the banking industry showed unusual uniformity in its posted foreign exchange rates. Most banks maintained a tight band and refrained from breaking what appeared to be an unofficial ceiling...


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