Black Market Currency Trade Thrives In Ethiopia as Economy Tanks
- Gap between informal and official exchange rates hits record
- Foreign currency shortage, resurgence of civil war are factors
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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The gap between the Ethiopian currency’s official and parallel-market exchange rates widened to a record as foreign reserves dwindled and fighting in the country’s north resumed.
On Wednesday, the birr traded as high as 92 a dollar on the black market, while the official rate remained at 52.5, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified speaking about the parallel market.