Central Bank of Armenia to stick to floating exchange rate of national currency: deputy CB governor

YEREVAN, December 29, /ARKA./. A deputy governor of Armenian Central Bank (CB) said today the CB will stick to the floating exchange rate of the national currency Dram next year.

Speaking at a news conference Vache Gabrielian said the Central Bank will intervene only to paper over steep fluctuations of the exchange rate.

‘We do not have a framework within which the Central Bank would like the Dram to stay, but we also understand that it should not rise or fall steeply,’ he said.

He said an improved balance of payments and economic growth are two factors that may push the dram to get stronger.

“But it is still difficult to say which of these factors may have a stronger impact. We do not have a rate that should be preserved or achieved. The changing exchange rate is not important, what is important is to avoid steep fluctuations,’ Vache Gabrielian said.

In early March this year the Central Bank reversed to the floating exchange rate policy provoking a drastic depreciation of dram that fell by 66.36 points against USD to 372.11 Drams per one USD. Armenian commercial banks posted 4.7 billion Drams of damages on March 3 alone caused by the return to the floating exchange rate. ($1 – 377.32 Drams). M.M. -0-