BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 24
By Zeyni Jafarov - Trend:
The exchange rate of the manat against foreign currencies in the first quarter of 2021 was formed in accordance with the ratio of supply and demand, the review of the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) said, Trend reports.
According to the review, during the mentioned period, equilibrium had been observed in the foreign exchange market.
Besides, the volume of transactions on the local market decreased, which was mainly due to the ongoing de-dollarization tendencies.
Meanwhile, the value of transactions in the non-cash foreign exchange market decreased by 24.5 percent compared to the same period in 2020, amounting to $5.9 billion.
As noted by the CBA, from January through April this year, foreign exchange auctions of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) were continued. Information about each auction had been announced to market participants through the Bloomberg terminal before the start of the auction. In total, 23 foreign exchange auctions were held in the first quarter of 2021.
The official rate of the manat to the US dollar for the past quarter was set on the basis of the average rate for interbank transactions. The weighted average rate of the manat against the US dollar amounted to 1.7 manat. The foreign currency purchase rates set by the banks were close to the official rate. So, the average daily purchase rate of commercial banks amounted to 1.69 manat (99 cents), and the selling rate - 1.7 manat.
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