Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
Currency reserves of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) decreased by $121 million (2.8 percent) – to nearly $4.1 billion in July 2016, compared to June 2016, says the CBA statistical data posted on its website Aug. 2.
The reduction of currency reserves began in June 2016. This was preceded by reserves’ three-month growth, which came after a long period of decrease that began in July, 2014.
The reduction was at a slower rate (in the range of $20-50 million) at the beginning, but a sharp decline in the volume of reserves began in December 2014 due to an increase in demand for dollar in the country.
The reduction of currency reserves is related, in particular, to the intervention carried out by the CBA on the currency market to keep the exchange rate of Azerbaijani manat against the US dollar at a stable level.
The Central Bank’s currency reserves decreased by $4,338.6 billion (more than twice) during the year, according to the CBA.