BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 28. Some pressure by imports may resume on the volume of currency sales at the auctions of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) in the short term, Deputy Head of the Russian Gazprombank's Market Analysis Department Gulnara Khaidarshina told Trend.
According to her, the growth of Azerbaijani imports, in value terms, amounted to 14.5 percent from January through May 2022, year on year - up to $5.1 billion.
"Azerbaijan has sufficient resources to maintain a stable exchange rate, being one of the most secured international reserves of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries," she said.
"Azerbaijan’s international reserves including assets of the State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) were estimated at over $54.1 billion as of June 1, 2022, which is close to 100 percent of GDP (estimated value based on its growth of 5.6 percent in 2021), while covering 53 months of imports," Khaidarshina noted.
Khaidarshina emphasized that despite the growth, the volume of currency sales at the auctions of CBA remains below the level of the fourth quarter of 2021, when there was a peak in budget expenditures.
"We consider this event neutral for Azerbaijani Eurobonds," she added.