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Nigerian Central Bank Lifts Forex Restrictions on 43 Items — Market Forces to Determine Exchange Rate
15.10.2023
The Nigerian central bank said on Oct. 12 that it had lifted foreign exchange restrictions imposed on the importation of 43 items. The central bank said the restrictions initially imposed in 2015 may have contributed to the weakening of the naira on the parallel foreign exchange market. Unifying...
Tanzanian Central Bank Launches Foreign Exchange Reserves Boosting Gold Buying Scheme
27.9.2023
The Bank of Tanzania said on Sept. 25 that it has kickstarted an initiative that seeks to boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves by buying gold with local currency. The bank said its objective is to acquire six tonnes of gold from miners and traders in 2023 alone. The Tanzanian Gold...
US Dollar Shortages: Ethiopia and Nigeria in $100 Million Currency Swap Transaction
17.7.2023
According to a report, the central banks of Ethiopia and Nigeria recently consummated a $100 million currency swap transaction. Under the arrangement, an Ethiopian airliner was paid local currency equivalent to $100 million while Dangote Cement is said to have received a similar amount of nairas....
Nigerian Currency Falls by More Than 30% After Central Bank Announced New Forex Market Rules
18.6.2023
The Nigerian currency’s official exchange rate versus the greenback recently plunged to NGN634 per dollar from just under NGN470 per dollar. The central bank’s decision to allow the naira to “float” came a few weeks after Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu pledged to end...
Tanzanian Central Bank Says Forex Restrictions Intended to ‘Safeguard the Stability of the Financial System’
3.6.2023
The Tanzanian central bank said on May 31 that foreign currency dealers are required to trade all transactions that exceed $1,000,000 within “interbank foreign exchange market prevailing quoted prices.” According to the Bank of Tanzania, the latest directives are intended...
IMF Says Zimbabwe Gold-Backed Digital Currency a Potential Threat to Financial Stability
11.5.2023
The International Monetary Fund has urged Zimbabwean authorities to weigh the benefits versus risks of issuing a gold-backed digital currency. Instead of using gold-backed digital currency to limit the demand for the greenback, the global lender said monetary authorities should consider...
Russian Central Bank Attributes Recent Ruble Depreciation to Lower Forex Sales by Exporters
12.4.2023
The Russian central bank has attributed the ruble’s latest plunge against the U.S. dollar to the temporary reduction “in sales of foreign currency earnings by exporters.” The central bank also revealed that the Chinese yuan accounted for 39% of the Russian forex market’s...
Kenyan Forex Crisis: Central Bank Orders Financial Institutions to Ration Dollars
6.3.2023
Growing shortages of foreign exchange on the interbank market have reportedly forced the Central Bank of Kenya to ask financial institutions to ration dollar purchases by Kenyan businesses. The shortages have forced Kenyan firms to seek greenbacks on alternative markets where the exchange rate...
Ghanaian Cedi Second Worst-Performing Asset Among Sub-Saharan Africa’s Top 15 Currencies
24.1.2023
In just the first 17 days of the new year, the Ghanaian currency reportedly depreciated by 12.7%, making it the second worst-performing among Sub-Saharan Africa’s top 15 currencies. While one U.S. dollar bought 13.10 units of the cedi on the parallel market, according to the latest Bank...
Huobi Korea Plans to Cut Ties With Parent Company, Strengthen Domestic Presence
10.1.2023
According to a report from South Korea, the Korean subsidiary of Huobi Global is planning to cut ties with the parent company. The management of the trading platform stated that they plan to “strengthen its position” as a domestic cryptocurrency exchange and change its name. Huobi...
Report: Syrian Central Bank Devalues Local Currency by Nearly 50%
3.1.2023
The Syrian central bank recently announced the nearly 50% devaluation of the Syrian pound’s exchange rate versus the greenback from 3,015 per dollar to 4,522 per dollar. The central bank also warned currency speculators that it will take steps to end activities that undermine the stability...
Ghana Takes Steps to Operationalize Gold-for-Oil Scheme — Move Expected to Help Halt Cedi’s Depreciation
27.11.2022
According to directives issued by Samuel A. Jinapor, the Ghanaian minister for lands and natural resources, large-scale gold mining companies will be required to “sell 20% of all refined gold at their refineries to the Bank of Ghana.” A gold-for-oil scheme is part of the Ghanaian...
Nigerian Currency Gains Versus US Dollar Days After Tapping All-Time Low
10.11.2022
Just a few days after plummeting to its worst exchange rate against the U.S. dollar ever, the Nigerian currency was trading at around 820 units for every dollar on Nov. 8, a report has said. An economist has suggested that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s controversial currency plan is unlikely...
Ethiopia Orders Banks to Reject Requests for Foreign Exchange to Buy ‘Non-Priority Products’
19.10.2022
The Ethiopian government has instructed banks to reject requests for foreign currency to buy so-called non-priority products. The Ethiopian Minister of Industry Melaku Alebel Addis has defended the move, saying this will allow local manufacturers to grow and become competitive. The restrictions...
Japanese Yen Plunges to 32-Year Low Against US Dollar — Another Intervention by Authorities Expected
16.10.2022
The Japanese yen’s exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar recently plunged to its lowest rate in 32 years — 147.66 JPY per dollar. The yen’s latest fall comes less than a month after its slip in September prompted authorities to enter foreign exchange markets for the first time since...
Report: Zimbabwe Tertiary Learning Institution Developing Central Bank Digital Currency
12.10.2022
Harare Institute of Technology, a Zimbabwean higher learning institution, is reportedly developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Quinton Kanhukamwe, the institution’s vice chancellor, said the digital currency is expected to help eliminate vices such as currency manipulation...
Kenyan Central Bank Rejects Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Claims Country Lacks Forex to Import Oil
4.10.2022
The Central Bank of Kenya appeared to rebuke the country’s new deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, after it rejected the latter’s claims the East African nation lacks enough foreign exchange to import oil. According to the bank, all the foreign exchange used in private transactions...
Hong Kong Protects Local Currency in Forex Market Amid Capital Flight to US Dollar
29.9.2022
Following the Bank of England explaining that it would be meddling in U.K. bond markets and the Bank of Japan defending the yen in the foreign exchange market last week, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) revealed it intervened in forex markets on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s central bank...
Report: Gap Between Ethiopian Currency’s Official and Parallel Market Exchange Rate Grows to New Record
25.9.2022
The Ethiopian birr currency’s parallel exchange rate against the U.S. dollar recently dropped to a low of 92 birrs per dollar, a report has said. The report added that following this latest plunge, the gap between the birr’s official and parallel market exchange rates has widened to...
Bank of Japan Intervenes in Foreign Exchange Markets After Yen Slips to 24-Year Low
22.9.2022
While the greenback has been rising higher, the Japanese yen tapped a 24-year low and Japan decided to intervene in foreign exchange markets (forex) for the first time since 1998. Reports say the Bank of Japan conducted the first forex intervention in 24 years, after the Japanese central bank kept...