BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 18. The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) expects stability in the currency market for 2025, as stated in its explanation regarding the recent decision on the refinancing rate, Trend reports.
The CBA reports that the current account surplus for the first nine months of the year reached $4 billion, equivalent to 7.2 percent of GDP. The key component of the current account is the foreign trade balance, which, according to the State Customs Committee, recorded a positive balance of $5.6 billion for the first eleven months of 2024.
The document emphasizes that in light of favorable external sector indicators, stability is maintained in the currency market, with demand for foreign currency at the CBA's auctions being fully satisfied.
"As previously reported, to meet one-off government expenditures, the CBA purchased foreign currency on the domestic market in 2023 and carried out planned sales in November 2024. Despite this, the CBA's foreign currency reserves totaled $10.9 billion as of the end of November 2024, significantly exceeding internationally recognized adequacy norms.
For instance, the current level of reserves is twice the volume of goods and services imports for three months. The projected current account surplus allows for expectations of continued stability in the currency market in 2025. According to the October forecast, the surplus will reach $5.5 billion in 2025," the CBA said.
To note, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) decided to keep the refinancing rate unchanged at the level of 7.25 percent.
According to the CBA, the upper and lower limits of the interest rate corridor also remained unchanged at 8.25 percent and 6.25 percent, respectively.
The decision to keep the interest rate unchanged was made based on actual and projected inflation within the target range (4±2%) and an analysis of macroeconomic trends.
Future decisions regarding the interest rate corridor will be based on actual and projected inflation, as well as the dynamics of internal and external risk factors. The Central Bank continues to analyze economic processes and monitor financial markets.