The Ethiopian currency, birr, weakened slightly Thursday after rising strongly against the US dollar and other major currencies on growing coffee export earnings, partly buoyed by additional funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Ethiopian birr shed off three basis points Thursday, to trade at 13.51 against the US dollar.
It also weakened against the pound sterling and the euro, as it has traded most recently at 13.45 but yielded more ground at trade at 13.49 earlier in the week.
The local currency traded at 16.59 against the euro, compared to 16.09 early in the week, yielding ground against the pound, to trade at 20.101, compared to the week’s opening of 19.45, when it was backed by increased inflows from the IMF.
The IMF has given the Ethiopian economy a vote of confidence and voted for the release of US$58.7 million, to support efforts to keep inflation down.
Ethiopia, which depends mostly on agricultural exports, has seen coffee output growing.
The East African nation produces about 280,000 tonnes of coffee annually.
Tourism earnings, mostly from visitors to some of the countryâ?s world- revered religious sites like Axum and Lalibela in the North have also been soaring in recent months.
