The Central Bank of Ethiopia announced an unscheduled auction of $500 million to support the birr
The National Bank of Ethiopia announced an unscheduled special auction to sell $500 million on August 20 amid a plunge in the national currency—the birr—to a record low of nearly 162 per dollar. This was reported by The Rio Times, citing Bloomberg and the country’s central bank.
The volume of this one-time sale equals the total amount the regulator had previously planned to sell during the first quarter of the 2026/27 fiscal year. The plan called for four auctions of $125 million each—on August 12 and 26, as well as September 9 and 23.
According to Bloomberg, the currency has weakened by approximately 3.2% since the beginning of the year. The publication also reports that the central bank has already spent about $2.2 billion to support the currency; this estimate was provided by the regulator itself. Special auctions totaling $500 million were also held on January 27 and February 21.
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At the August 12 auction, commercial banks submitted bids totaling $470.17 million for an offering of $125 million. Twenty-eight banks participated in the auction, compared to 14 in June. Nine institutions received dollars. The ceiling rate at the auction rose from 157 to 161.0050 birr per dollar, while the weighted average rate for successful bids reached 161.7994 birr per dollar.
David Cowan, Citigroup’s chief economist for Africa, forecasts that by the end of the year, the exchange rate could range from 185 to 195 birr per dollar. This is Citigroup’s assessment, not a target set by the Ethiopian government.
