BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1
By Zeyni Jafarov - Trend:
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) decided this week to keep the discount rate unchanged - at the level of 6.25 percent. The upper limit of the interest rate corridor was also kept at the level of 6.75 percent, and the lower one - at 5.75 percent, Trend reports.
CBA chairman of the board Elman Rustamov noted that average annual inflation in Azerbaijan in 2021 will reach a level close to the upper limit of the target range. According to him, anti-inflationary conditions remain as a result of monetary policy.
The head of the CBA also said that the introduction of the digital national currency in Azerbaijan remains a priority issue. The Central Bank is conducting research in the field of digital manat and discussions with the relevant Turkish authority in this area.
It also became known this week that in June this year, foreign citizens spent 48.3 million manat ($28.4 million) in Azerbaijan through bank cards, which is more than double the figure for the same period last year. In total, in the first half of the year, foreigners spent 193.1 million manat ($113.6 million) in Azerbaijan through bank cards, which is 31 percent less than in the same period of last year.
This week, the ADB Board of Directors highly appreciated the preventive measures taken by the Azerbaijani government in 2020 in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Besides, this week, a decline of the manat against the main currencies of partner countries and an increase in gold and silver prices were recorded in Azerbaijan.
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