BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 27. The nominal effective exchange rate of Azerbaijani manat appreciated in August by 10.5 percent as some trade partners’ currencies depreciated, the World Bank said in its Monthly Economic Update, Trend reports.
“The exchange rate remained stable at 1.7 AZN to the USD, while the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) increased its reserves. Oil Fund’s FX sales more than doubled in August (mom), albeit remaining 4.6 percent lower than one year ago. CBA reserves edged up by 1.3 percent in nominal terms (mom) in August, amounting to USD 7.5 billion as subdued FX demand enabled reserve build up,” reads the report.
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan reduced liquidity absorption operations in July. The CBA note portfolio declined by 16 percent in July compared to June, amounting to AZN 630 million, or 4 percent of base money. Liquidity provision operations remained largely unchanged.
Credit to the economy expanded by 0.8 percent in nominal terms (mom) in July. Overall, the loan portfolio expanded by 23.5 percent (yoy) during January-July 2022. Consumer lending continued to expand at a robust rate, with a 9.4 percent (mom) rise recorded in July, while business loans saw a sharp fall. Non-performing loans leveled off at 3.5 percent of total loans. Deposits declined by 1.1 percent (mom) in July, largely due to a drop in corporate deposits, while household deposits expanded by 2 percent (mom) in July. The dollarization rate remained stable at 50 percent of deposits. Bank profits surged by 23 percent in nominal terms in July (yoy).
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