Chairman of the National Bank of Azerbaijan: Manat devaluation is not expected

The devaluation of the national currency is expected in Azerbaijan, Elman Rustamov, the Chairman of the National Bank (NBA) told a press conference.

According to him, there are several factors bringing about changes in the value of the currency, and some of them could cause devaluation while others can be viewed as the basis for the strengthening of manat.
According to calculations by the NBA, the factors leading to the strengthening of manat predominate over the factors causing devaluation in the country, he added.
“In this respect, I can officially state that the devaluation of the national currency is not expected, and we will maintain the stable rate,” he underlined.

Elman Rustamov added that the central bank had spent about $300 million from its foreign exchange reserves since January 1 in order to preserve the stability of the manat.
“In the face of the global financial crisis, this is an intervention of a small amount in comparison to other countries and Azerbaijan’s overall foreign exchange reserves,” he added.
Since the beginning of the year, the manat dropped by 0.5% against the U.S. dollar but strengthened by 7.8% against the euro.