• $200 million will be offered through two foreign exchange auctions in June.
• National Bank of Ethiopia scheduled $100 million auctions for June 9 and June 24.
• The auctions will fully utilise NBE’s fourth-quarter allocation for 2025/26.
• Commercial banks will bid for foreign currency under the market-based allocation system.
• Import-dependent sectors remain exposed to foreign exchange access constraints.
• Auction clearing rates moved from Br107.9 in August 2024 to above Br154 in early 2026.
• The system supports Ethiopia’s IMF-backed exchange rate and monetary reform programme.
Market Impact:
NBE’s June auction plan shows Ethiopia continuing to use competitive bidding as a core mechanism for foreign exchange allocation. For importers, manufacturers and trade-finance clients, the auctions offer a more formal route to dollar access, but not a full resolution of hard-currency shortages.
The wider signal is that Ethiopia is trying to manage birr adjustment through supply injections rather than fixed-rate control. The effectiveness of the system will depend on auction consistency, bank demand and whether formal market access narrows incentives to use parallel channels.
Key Numbers:
$200 million — total June FX auction allocation — quarterly dollar supply
$100 million — June 9 auction amount — first scheduled tranche
$100 million — June 24 auction amount — second scheduled tranche
Br107.9 per dollar — first August 2024 auction clearing rate — reform starting point
Above Br154 per dollar — early 2026 auction clearing level — birr adjustment signal
2025/26 Q4 — auction schedule period — fiscal-year FX planning
Business Signal:
Ethiopia’s FX reform is shifting dollar access toward scheduled auctions, but supply depth remains the key test for importers and banks.