"A total of 18 commercial banks participated in the auction, with a global demand of 33.3 million dollars, resulting in a future exchange rate of the kwanza against the US dollar for 30 days of 650.3870," reads a statement issued this Wednesday by the BNA following the first auction of this type.
With this mechanism, the banks signal that they expect a depreciation of 1.8 percent of the kwanza against the dollar on 6 November, being obliged to buy the amount of currency to which they have committed, which can lead to profit if the value of the kwanza is above 650.3 per dollar or loss if the opposite situation occurs.
According to the BNA, the aim of this type of auction, for which a timetable is not yet known, is "to confer greater predictability to the foreign exchange market and contribute to the informed evolution of the exchange rate", with a view to establishing a foreign exchange futures market in the Angolan financial system.
"As a result, commercial banks will have better conditions to negotiate forward sales to their clients, thus transmitting greater security to the market in terms of the availability of foreign currency as well as the applicable exchange rate, thus serving to mitigate exchange risk in foreign exchange transactions, particularly in foreign trade operations," explains the central bank.
Between January and September, the BNA sold the commercial banks 3.3 billion dollars, about half the amount registered in the same period of the previous year, once again hitting historic lows.
Last year, the BNA sold a total of 8.3 billion dollars in foreign currency, the worst record since 2009, when 10.6 billion dollars was made available to the market, according to the consolidated foreign currency sales map.
