Ethiopia has floated its currency, the birr.
This saw a sharp drop in the value of the currency, but Ethiopian authorities hoped it would secure support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and see progress on a debt-restructuring deal.
At the end of last week, the birr was trading at 57.48 for a US dollar, but by Monday was at nearly 75 for a dollar.
The Ethiopian central bank said commercial banks could now buy and sell foreign currencies at freely negotiated rates, and that it would only make “limited interventions” in the future.
Economists predicted that the move would initially see Ethiopians’ cost of living rise.
