“Though the exchange rate seems to be declined as compared to last week, it is still high compared to previous months,” Yosef told Addis Zeybe.įor instance, the official exchange rate was approximately 40.81 Ethiopian Birr to the U.S. However, things do not seem constant as Yosef said, when Addis Zeybe called him a week after, to ask him about the amount of dollar exchange rate in the parallel market he said it is fluctuated between 60 to 62 birr, while the dollar is exchanged between the official 44.9 to 45.1 in the official rate. With the rising demand for foreign currency, the exchange rate gap between the official and black markets went up to 48 percent in some areas of Addis Ababa.Ī week before, the difference between the official and the black market was about 28%.Īccording to sources, Addis Ababa, Adama, and Hawassa are among the cities where exchange rates for hard currencies, including Euro, showed an unprecedented increase during that period. "Due to the increased demand for currencies this week, the dollar exchange rate at the parallel market skyrocketed," he added. He sipped his coffee and responded, “ I can buy a dollar for 70 birrs now, but don’t expect this price after tomorrow, even after hours.” We asked Yosef the exact amount he can pay for a dollar during our meeting in a small coffee shop in Addis Ababa, on Wednesday, August 5, 2021, around 4:00 PM. The birr was trading on the parallel market around 28 to the dollar, close to parity with the official rate and 25%. Three years ago, when the homegrown economic reform agenda was announced, the gap between the official and black market exchange rates for birr was narrow.
“As the business is so sensitive, we are closely following new developments in the country daily including, new directives from the national bank, the political situation, the trade, and even the geopolitics,” he said.
“Over the past years everything has been changing so fast, exchange rates are rapidly fluctuating due to the political uncertainty in the country,” Yosef told Addis Zeybe. Yosef Taye, whose name has been changed for security reasons, has been involved in Addis Ababa's parallel foreign currency market for about a decade.
0 kommentar(er)
