ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 3. Kazakhstan to continue currency sales in effort to support budget and pension funds, Trend reports via the National Bank of Kazakhstan.
According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, currency sales from the National Fund in March amounted to $748 million. The tenge exchange rate weakened by one percent in March, reaching 504.27 tenge ($1) per dollar. The trading volume on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange increased to $4.1 billion.
"Currency sales from the National Fund in March amounted to $748 million, which allowed for the allocation of transfers to the republican budget, as well as the financing of the infrastructure project for the construction of the Taldykorgan-Usharal main gas pipeline. The share of sales from the National Fund accounted for 18 percent of the total trading volume, or about $44 million per day," the statement reads.
Based on the government's preliminary projections for transfers to the national budget in April, the National Bank expects currency sales from the National Fund to total between $950 million to $1,050 million.
The National Bank did not conduct currency interventions in March but continued purchasing foreign currency to support the assets of the Unified National Pension Fund (UNPF), acquiring $250 million. The forecasts for the tenge exchange rate depend on global markets, tax payments, and the geopolitical situation.