Azeri banks suspend sale of foreign currency

The commercial banks of Azerbaijan suspended the sale of foreign currency on 30 August, Turan news agency reported the same day.


As many as 15 banks do not sell foreign currency right now, according to various reports, the report said.


A representative of the bank of Respublika did not explain the reason for the termination of sales, saying that "this decision was taken within the bank," the report said.


Ata Bank and the AFB bank said that they have not sold dollars in the last few days, while Nikoil Bank said it stopped selling foreign currency on 30 August, the report said.


Turan noted that 29 commercial banks purchased 50m dollars at an auction held by the State Oil Fund. The demand for the dollar has been much higher, the report said, citing "unofficial information".


The end of currency sales is due to foreign currency shortages, according to economist Samir Aliyev. "I do not think it is related to a possible devaluation," he was quoted as saying.


BBCM note: On 21 December 2015, Azerbaijan's Central Bank devalued the national currency, the manat, against the dollar by 47.63 per cent. Earlier in 2015, Azerbaijan spent more than half of its hard currency reserves as it tried to shore up the currency as global oil prices fell. Since the first devaluation of the manat in February 2015, the currency has lost more than 100 per cent of its value.

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