USD/ETB official slipped to 158.7993 (-0.13%) while the parallel rate held at 177.133, keeping the gap at 11.5%. ESX opened the session flat with WGBX at 1,182.16 and AWAB at 3,000.
FX
The birr weakened against every major on the official window today. USD/ETB closed at 157.227 / 158.7993 (-0.13%), with GBP/ETB the day's biggest mover at 209.9924 / 212.0923 (-1.27%). EUR/ETB printed 182.8236 / 184.6518 (-0.75%), JPY/ETB 0.9915 / 1.0014 (-0.52%) and CNY/ETB 23.0856 / 23.3165 (-0.50%). AED/ETB held the line at 42.8038 / 43.2319 (-0.13%).
The parallel USD/ETB stayed pinned at 177.133 (unchanged), leaving the premium versus the official sell rate at 11.5%.
Macro
Headline inflation accelerated to 11.7% YoY (May 12 reading), up 2.3pp. Food inflation came in at 13.5% YoY and non-food at 9.1% YoY — the food/non-food spread continues to do most of the work on the index.
ESX
A flat tape across the board. Today's session shows no day-over-day moves: WGBX 1,182.16, GDAB 1,160.00 and AWAB 3,000.00 all unchanged. The Interbank Money Market reference (IBMM) held at 12.00. With every name printing change 0, there is no gainer/loser to call out — the market is in a wait-and-see mode ahead of the next batch of bank earnings.
Watch
- Policy reform: government plans a new dedicated export authority as part of the post-election reform package — relevant for exporters routing FX through the official window.
- Macro pipeline: PM Abiy highlighted progress on the joint fertilizer project with Dangote Group, a multi-year FX-saver if delivered on schedule.
- Banking sector: African banking revenues topped USD 100bn last cycle, with profitability above the global average — useful framing as ESX bank tickers consolidate near their listing references.