Volume of foreign currency purchased by commercial banks increases by 29.3% to USD 5,076.2 million.

All told, the oil sector topped the list of foreign currency offerings to commercial banks, providing a total of USD 2.1 billion, followed by the National Treasury, which sent a total of USD 924.5 million to the market.

The 23 commercial banks operating in the Angolan banking market purchased a total of USD 5,076.2 million in the first half of the year, 29.3% more than the total for the previous half of the year, according to a report by the National Bank of Angola (BNA).

Called the Foreign Exchange Market Evolution Report, the document highlights that, with the exception of the diamond sector, the other sectors provided banks with foreign currency in larger amounts, placing the Oil Sector (2,175.9 million dollars) and the National Treasury (924.5 million) as the main providers of foreign currency in the market.

The report also shows that the amount obtained represents a drop of 14.4%, year-on-year.

All things considered, the oil sector remained the leading provider of foreign currency, with a weight of 42.9%, followed by the other sectors with 19.9%, the National Treasury with 18.2% and the diamond sector with a weight of 13.3%.

With the liberalization of the foreign exchange market, the BNA ceased to be the main provider of foreign currency, with its sales representing, in the period under analysis, around 5.7% of the total purchased by the banks.

The document also reveals that the exchange rate of the Kwanza in relation to the United States Dollar remained stable in the first half of the semester and depreciated in the second, ending the period with an accumulated depreciation of 2.9%.