TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, October 31. The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has conducted currency interventions for 22.8 trillion soums (almost $2 billion) from July through September of 2023, Trend reports.
As per data by the bank, the recorded volume is 18 percent less than in the second quarter of 2023 (28 trillion soums, or $2.4 billion).
Simultaneously, the value of monetary gold bought by the bank amounted to 19.5 trillion soums ($1.5 billion), which is 19.6 percent more than in the same period last year (16.3 trillion soums) and approximately the same amount as the previous quarter of 2023.
As a result, the amount of net interventions in the foreign exchange market amounted to 3.3 trillion soums, or $300 million. The central Bank assesses this as an intervention within the framework of the principle of neutrality of foreign currency, which could not be sold due to sufficient supply on the domestic market.
Meanwhile, the principle of neutrality of gold and foreign exchange reserves implies that the Central Bank keeps the volume of net sales of foreign currency funds within the limits of monetary gold purchased during the year, that is, the regulator tries to sell currency for an amount lower than the gold purchased. In other words, during operations on the domestic foreign exchange market, the Central Bank does not pursue the goal of accumulating or using existing gold reserves, but proceeds from the principle of preventing excessive growth of the money supply.
The Central Bank's role in the domestic foreign exchange market includes taking action to counterbalance or offset the injection of extra money into the economy.