Azerbaijan, Baku, June 5 /Trend, I.Khalilova/
In the first quarter of 2010, the amount of Azerbaijan's currency market fell by 21.1 percent (or 1.431 billion manat) compared to the same period of last year, amounting to 5.349 billion manat, according to a report released by the Central Bank on financial stability.
The amount of inter-bank currency market decreased by 15.1 percent and inter-bank exchange operations - by 24.3 percent.
"Central Bank's anti-crisis policy had a stabilizing effect on the currency market, the report says. Gradual elimination of the consequences of the crisis and strengthening the credibility of the manat as a stable currency helped reduce pressure on the currency market.
During the first quarter, Central Bank carried out intervention in amount of $476.5 million, reducing by 2.2 times compared to the same period of last year. As a result of adequate regulation of demand and offer, the exchange rate of manat to the dollar dropped by 0.03 percent for the reported period.
Increased confidence in the national currency is confirmed by decline in purchases of cash dollars from banks by individuals and legal entities from 1601.1 million to 720.2 million manat. In addition, the deviation between the official and market rates decreased 3.6 times, the share of loans in foreign currency fell 3.6 percent to 40.6 percent during the first quarter 2010 compared with last, and the share of foreign currency deposits in total deposit portfolio decreased by one percent to 60.6 percent.