BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.16
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
To control the lari's depreciation against the USD, the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) will sell $40 million at foreign exchange auction and more than $200 million by the end of this year, Trend reports via the NBG.
"The lari has depreciated against the USD by about two percent, following an increased number of new coronavirus cases in Georgia and the upcoming parliamentary elections," said NBG Head Koba Gvenetadze.
As of Sept.16, 1 USD costs 3.1546 laris, while 1 euro costs 3.7521 laris.
Gvenetadze explained the recent depreciation of the lari was caused by the tensions of the election campaign period, which is temporary and will not affect inflation, which according to the current forecast will continue to decline over the rest of the year and fall below the target level in the first half of 2021.
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava said that the fluctuation of the lari is moderate and there are no signs the ‘negative trend will deepen.
"Georgia is a part of the global economy and now the whole world has entered a period of economic crisis. If we look at the recent dynamics of the lari, even though the big challenge is the restriction of tourism, the restriction of foreign trade, the dynamics are not necessarily characterized by large fluctuations. The fluctuations are moderate and if we compare with other countries in the region, the percentage of fluctuations is also low," Turnava said.
Meanwhile, the monetary policy committee of the NBG decided to keep the refinancing rate unchanged at eight percent.
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