The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) announced the results of its special foreign exchange auction conducted on August 20, 2026, revealing strong demand for foreign currency across the country’s financial sector. While the central bank made $500 million available for the bidding process, participating commercial banks submitted purchase requests that far exceeded the allocated supply.
A total of 22 commercial banks actively participated in the auction, submitting aggregate bids totaling $710.14 million. The significant oversubscription highlights the ongoing demand for U.S. dollars among domestic financial institutions to support international trade, import activities, and corporate foreign exchange obligations following recent macroeconomic policy shifts aimed at liberalizing the foreign exchange market.
Following a competitive evaluation based on offered volumes and exchange rates, the NBE selected 21 out of the 22 bidding banks as winners to distribute the allocated $500 million. The high participation rate reflects the financial sector’s reliance on central bank auctions as a primary mechanism to secure foreign currency liquidity amidst broader economic reforms.
The auction recorded a peak bid price of 160.2500 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) per U.S. dollar, while the lowest bid submitted stood at 159.5003 ETB. The marginal rate—the lowest winning bid price—was set at 160.2121 ETB per dollar, establishing a tight pricing floor for the winning allocations.
The weighted average exchange rate among the winning commercial banks reached 160.2144 ETB per U.S. dollar. The NBE’s periodic currency auctions serve as key indicators for market-driven exchange rates, helping stabilize the local currency and providing necessary dollar allocations to critical sectors of the Ethiopian economy.