Demand for US dollars more than doubled supply at Ethiopia’s latest foreign exchange auction, with banks bidding 145.31 million US dollars against an offer of 70 million US dollars, the National Bank of Ethiopia said.

The 18th round of the auction, held on Tuesday, cleared at a cut-off rate of 155.1200 birr per US dollar. The weighted average rate stood at 155.1223 birr, while the selling price reached 155.12 birr, slightly higher than the previous week.

A total of 31 banks participated, of which 21 secured foreign currency allocations. The highest bid submitted during the session was 155.1299 birr per US dollar and the lowest was 155.1010 birr.

The latest sale comes amid stepped-up foreign exchange interventions by the central bank. In January 2026 alone, the bank sold a combined 640 million US dollars to commercial banks in the first four weeks of the year, equivalent to about 82 percent of the 780 million US dollars auctioned in total during 2025. The interventions included a single 500 million US dollar auction, the largest since the competitive auction framework was introduced .

Despite sizeable injections, pressure on the birr has persisted. A total of 780 million US dollars supplied in 2025 failed to halt the currency’s slide, reflecting continued structural demand for hard currency .

The competitive auction system forms part of Ethiopia’s monetary reforms aimed at easing foreign currency shortages and improving exchange rate price discovery. Market participants monitor auction outcomes closely as an indicator of liquidity conditions and exchange rate pressures in the banking system.