• FCFA appreciated against the dollar, yuan, pound, and euro
• Price competitiveness fell as the real effective exchange rate rose 1.2 %
• Inflation gap limited losses, but BEAC expects pressures to persist

In its analysis of the third quarter of 2025, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) reports a marked appreciation of the FCFA against major international currencies. According to the data, the currency gained 3.1 % against the US dollar, 2.4 % against the yuan, 2.3 % against the pound sterling, and 0.2 % against the euro. Its nominal value also increased by 1.8 %.

This trend weakens the region’s ability to remain competitive on global markets and has led to another decline in price competitiveness. The overall real effective exchange rate (REER), the main competitiveness indicator, rose 1.2 % between July and September 2025, following a 2.8 % increase in the previous quarter. According to the BEAC, this reflects a continued loss of competitive positions on international markets.

The decline mainly concerns imports, while exports remain relatively stable. “The loss of competitive positions recorded on international markets in CEMAC economies in the third quarter of 2025 is due to weaker competitiveness on the import front (1.5 %) and on the export front (0.4 %),” the BEAC notes. At the national level, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Chad saw a deterioration in price competitiveness, while Congo and the Central African Republic recorded an improvement.

Inflation

Despite these trends, the situation could have been worse, the BEAC says. Price competitiveness in the CEMAC region was partly preserved thanks to a favorable inflation gap. Between the second and third quarters of 2025, the REER remained below the overall nominal effective exchange rate (NEER), indicating that inflation in the region rose more slowly than among its trading partners. With an average increase of 0.8 %, inflation helped limit the impact of the stronger currency and slightly supported the export REER, which rose 0.4 %, according to the report.

Looking ahead, the BEAC expects this dynamic to continue, although the inflation differential may narrow due to rising prices in Cameroon following electoral deadlines and stable hydrocarbons prices among trading partners.

Sandrine Gaingne