Exchange rate to reach $1 = 20 birr in Ethiopia

As hard currency reserve dwindles in Ethiopia, experts predict that exchange rate could soon reach 20 birr per 1 U.S. dollar in the black market.

The current official exchange rate is 16.76 per $1, but in the black market the rate is 17.50 and in some places it goes as high as 18.50 birr per one dollar.

The primary cause of the hard currency supply shortage in Ethiopia is said to be capital flight, and the biggest culprits are the mega corporations that are owned by the ruling Woyanne junta who are depositing a significant portion of their profits in foreign banks.

Most private businessmen in Ethiopia have little trust in the stability of the financial system and that many of them also take their money out of the country as much as they can.