BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 28
By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:
The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has sold $20 million to stabilize the Georgian lari on April 27 after further depreciation, Trend reports referring to NBG.
Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the outbreak of the coronavirus and the global oil crisis, the Georgian national currency, the lari, has significantly depreciated against the USD in recent weeks.
As of April 27, 1 USD stood at 3.2044 lari, while 1 euro - 3.479 lari.
"The National Bank will carry out foreign exchange interventions more actively this year," the National Bank of Georgia said.
The bank said that its policy of building up foreign currency reserves in recent years has paid off.
"It was the policy of accumulating reserves that made it possible for the National Bank of Georgia to provide additional foreign exchange resources to the market through interventions in the face of this situation," reads the announcement of the National Bank of Georgia.
On March 13, the NBG released a statement in which it said that the recent depreciation of the lari exchange rate was linked to uncertainty caused by the coronavirus outbreak that has been transmitted to the financial markets through the channel of expectations.
Besides the coronavirus, the NBG said that another reason for the depreciation of the lari is the decline in international oil prices.
On March 25, the National Bank of Georgia sold $40 million at foreign exchange auction, while it sold another $40 million on March 19 and $20 million on March 13.
The National Bank of Georgia is keeping the refinancing rate at 9 percent.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356