Kazakhstan, Astana, Feb. 10 / Trend A. Maratov /
The Kazakh national currency is strengthening. The Kazakh National Bank will revert to a management policy by a floating rate, Grigory Marchenko, the head of the bank, said during an online conference on on a Kazakh portal.
"Holding a devaluation is out of the question given the current economic situation. At the moment, there is a very high probability of a strengthening tenge. There are several reasons for this. They are all essential - a rise in oil, metal and grain prices, a stable or increasing volume of their exports, solving external debt in the banking sector, and FDI," he said.
However, Marchenko said the bank will not prevent a sharp changing in the exchange rate, as this function is a part of the bank's monetary policy.
"We will try to avoid a sharply strengthening tenge by transiting to a managed floating. In January 2011 alone we bought $1.8 billion at the exchange to prevent strengthening," he said.
However, he did not deny that the tendency of a strengthening tenge rate is obvious. The national currency will continue to advance on the dollar.
"No changes are expected in the near future. The factors contributing to the strengthening will grow," he said.
"An oil price hike in early February can lead to more significant pressure on the tenge exchange rate in favor of strengthening," Marchenko said.