Angola Steps Up Currency Curbs to Stem Kwanza Decline
- Dollar squeeze raises the risk of payment delays to suppliers
- Kwanza is among Africa’s worst-performing currencies this year
The Angolan kwanza, which was allowed to float freely in 2019, is down nearly 40% against the dollar this year and one of the worst-performing currencies globally.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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Angola’s central bank is stepping up restrictions on foreign-exchange trading to stop the kwanza from weakening further, as Africa’s second-biggest oil producer grapples with a shortage of US dollars.
Commercial lenders in Angola have been unable to buy dollars through electronic trading systems outside a certain range, according to people familiar with the matter. That trading band has been getting tighter in recent weeks, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak to the media.