The depreciation of the Congolese franc to the dollar during the financial year 2009 is mainly due to the financial crisis which affected exports, foreign capital and the banking sector, Congo’s central bank announced on Thursday.
During the 2009 financial year, the exchange rate depreciated by 22.7%, from 639.3 Congolese francs to US$1.00 to 823.5 Congolese francs to US$1.00.
The swings of the exchange rate resulted from the reduction of foreign currency supply in a context of a sharp increase in demand as a result of the effects of the financial crisis.
In the second quarter, the economic, financial and monetary situation was generally stable thanks to new external contributions amounting to US$200 millio n from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the protection mechanism agai n st exogenous shocks at the end of the first quarter.
During this period, US$59.9 million was released by the World Bank in terms of balance of payments support. This enabled the Congolese central bank to
intervene on the exchange rate market to the tune of US$48.3 million.
In the exchange rate market, the national currency appreciated by 8.9% as agains t a depreciation of 22.7% at the first quarter. However, overheating reappeared on both the exchange rate and goods and services markets.
Overall, the year 2009 ended with a higher inflation rate of 53.44% as against 2 7.6% recorded in 2008.
