FX
USD/ETB printed 156.4391 on the indicative buy side against a 152 sell quote, a spread that continues to reflect the gap between official bank windows and thinner interbank liquidity. Day-over-day change was +2 birr, extending the currency's steady depreciation trajectory since the mid-2024 float. No material prints on EUR/ETB, GBP/ETB or CNY/ETB crossed the tape today; cross rates remain derived off the dollar leg.
Traders continue to watch NBE auction clearing levels for the next directional cue. Weekly FX auction demand has remained well above allocation, keeping pressure on the parallel premium.
Macro
No new prints from NBE, MoF or CSA on the tape today. Last official reads of record: headline CPI tracking in the high teens, broad money growth elevated, and reserves holding at the post-IMF RSF tranche level. Next scheduled data drops — monthly CPI and trade balance — remain the near-term catalysts.
Equities
ESX tape empty. No trades, listings or index prints reported through today's session window. The exchange remains in its early ramp phase with a thin instrument set; order flow continues to concentrate in a handful of names. Watch for primary issuance news from banks lining up share sales under the new capital rules.
News & Filings
No fresh corporate filings, regulatory notices or material news items flowed through the pipeline today. Desks are reliant on bank circulars and NBE directives for incremental signal.
What to Watch
- NBE FX auction — next clearing rate and allocation ratio; any widening of the official-parallel gap. - CPI print — April reading due; sticky food inflation remains the pain point. - ESX pipeline — commercial bank listings and any secondary tape activity. - Eurobond spreads — watch the restructured 2028s for risk-premium repricing. - Data flow — Macro, ESX and News feeds returned empty today; upstream ingestion needs a look if quiet persists.