What is the parallel rate (parallel market)?
The parallel rate is the unofficial, market-driven exchange rate at which currency trades outside official channels, typically weaker than the central-bank rate; the gap between them is the parallel premium. It emerges when a central bank holds the official rate above the level that would clear the market.
The size of the premium is a real-time gauge of how binding an FX shortage is. For compliant businesses the parallel market is not a usable channel — import payments must clear through authorized dealers and are reported to regulators.
Still, the premium is essential context for pricing contracts and for judging whether the official market actually holds dollars or is being rationed below the clearing rate.