Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr I. Khalilova / In January to May, 2007 consolidation of the national currency of Azerbaijan (manat) compared to the dollar rated 1.4%, the President of the National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA), Elman Rustamov , has reported. That is nominal consolidation of the manat. However, nominally the effective rate decreased by 1.4%.
"Reduction in the prices of manat comparing the currencies of Azerbaijan's main foreign trade partners is explained by the fact that the rate of consolation of their currencies' exchange rates comparing to the dollar were higher," Rustamov said.
The consolidation of the manat has its fundamental reasons, with majority of them being surplus of payment balance of the country, which is related to the exceeding investments coming into Azerbaijan resulting in an over flow from the country. Relatively, supply of the dollar is higher.
The President of the NBA considers the tendency to be long-term. However, the main purpose of the NBA is to prevent excessive rise in consolidation. Thus, it will be possible to maintain competitiveness in the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan.
There is AZN 160mln in current circulation.