Angola’s kwanza weakens more than 15 percent against dollar – cbank data

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Angola’s kwanza weakens more than 15 percent against dollar – cbank data

6:44 CAT | 06 Jan 2016

An employee of a money changer holds a stack of U.S. Dollar notes before giving it to a customer in Jakarta, October 8, 2015 REUTERS/Beawiharta

Reuters / An employee of a money changer holds a stack of U.S. Dollar notes before giving it to a customer in Jakarta, October 8, 2015.

Angola’s kwanza tumbled more than 15 percent against the dollar on Monday, central bank data showed, as Africa’s second-largest oil exporter reels from weak global oil prices and high demand for the more stable dollar.

In addition to the fall in the price of oil, domestic petrol prices rose sharply on Jan. 1 as the government cut its subsidies, in a move likely to push up inflation and weaken the domestic currency further.

Data on the Bank of Angola website showed the kwanza was officially bid at 154.835 against the greenback compared with 134.573 on Dec. 31.

“This is an adjustment to reduce the gap between the exchange rate from the central bank and the exchange rate from the street market, which is the real market,” chief executive officer of state-owned Bank of Commerce and Industry, Jorge Peres said.

The kwanza is now down more than 50 percent since January 2015.

Source: Reuters