The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic is taking all necessary measures to support the national currency. There is no shortage of foreign currency in the country. This was stated at a press conference by the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, Nurbek Zhenish.
He reported that since the beginning of September this year, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the som has increased by 5.87%, from 52.9561 (on September 1) to 56.0660 (on October 23) soms per one US dollar. "Overall, from January 2014 to October 23, the exchange rate of the US dollar has risen by 13.98%. The weakening of the national currency is due to the influence of several external factors. At the beginning of the year, the trends of the dollar's rise were preceded by a deterioration in the foreign political situation in Russia against the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine, the sudden devaluation of the tenge in Kazakhstan, and the policies of the US Federal Reserve. The current rise is related to the economic situation in Europe and the countries that are trade partners of Kyrgyzstan, the imposition of sanctions against Russia, and seasonal factors," the Deputy Chairman explained.
"The strengthening of the dollar is of a global nature. Currently, there is also an increase in the positions of the US dollar against the currencies of other countries in the international financial markets. Since the beginning of the year, the Russian ruble has weakened by 25.44%, the Kazakh tenge by 17.48%, the euro by 7.50%, the Swiss franc by 5.56%, and the Turkish lira by 4.61%," emphasized N. Zhenish.
Since the beginning of the year, the NBKR has conducted currency interventions amounting to 309.293 million US dollars. From August 19 to October 22, the regulator carried out operations to sell foreign currency amounting to 117.28 million dollars. The current size of international reserves is $2.1 billion, which corresponds to a four-month volume of imports entering the country.
After the information presented by the Deputy Head of the National Bank, representatives of the media were given the opportunity to ask all their questions. In particular, topics were raised regarding inflation forecasts in connection with the rise in the exchange rate of the American currency, measures taken by the NBKR to stabilize the situation in the currency market, the dynamics of remittances from migrants, etc.
The press conference also featured the head of the economic department of the NBKR, Seilbek Urustemov, and the head of the monetary operations department of the NBKR, Raushan Seitkasymova.
