Since the beginning of the year, Kyrgyz som has depreciated to U.S. dollar by 22.14 percent. The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan said.
Spread and measures taken by countries to combat coronavirus, continued high volatility in the financial markets of the countries- main trading partners of the republic affect the financial market of Kyrgyzstan.
In these conditions, there is an increased demand for foreign currency due, to a greater extent, to psychological factors and citizens’ expectations. The measures of the National Bank are aimed at mitigating the negative impact of the external factors. The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic constantly monitors the situation in the domestic foreign exchange and external financial markets and, in case of high demand for foreign currency, promptly intervenes to correct the situation.
«In order to meet the population’s demand for the foreign currency, since the beginning of 2020 to March 19, the National Bank has conducted seven interventions selling foreign currency for $ 202.7 million both in non-cash and cash forms. The bulk of the interventions occurred in March 2020,» the National Bank said.
Appreciation of the U.S. dollar to the Kyrgyz som to the level of 84.9 soms occurred the day before. This was a response to continuing risks in global financial markets. The openness of the Kyrgyz economy, the declining currency inflow from re-export operations and remittances are objective economic factors that have led to such appreciation of the U.S. dollar.
«A similar tendency is observed in the markets of the most developed and developing countries. Thus, since the beginning of 2020, the Russian ruble depreciated by 29.5 percent, the Belarusian ruble — by 20.5 percent, the Kazakh tenge — by 17.2 percent, the Ukrainian hryvnia — by 15.1 percent and the Georgian lari — by 10.1 percent. If necessary, the National Bank will continue to be present in the foreign exchange market and will take measures to meet the needs of the country’s economy in foreign currency,» the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic said.
