National Bank of Georgia sells $40 mln amid Georgian lari depreciation

The National Bank of Georgia has sold $40 million to stabilise the Georgian lari against the backdrop of its depreciation.

As of today, 1 USD costs 3.1920 GEL, while 1 EUR costs 3.5058 GEL.

The National Bank will carry out foreign exchange interventions more actively this year,“ the National Bank of Georgia said.

The aim of these interventions is to reduce excess fluctuations in the foreign exchange market and avoid negative expectations on the market. In addition to this, the bank says that it will use interventions in order to provide the market with grants and loans from the international financial institutions.

The bank says that its policy of building up foreign currency reserves in recent years has paid off:

It was the policy of accumulating reserves that made it possible for the National Bank of Georgia to provide additional foreign exchange resources to the market through interventions in the face of this particular situation,“ reads the announcement of the National Bank of Georgia.

On April 27, the National Bank of Georgia sold $20 million to stabilise the Georgian lari after further depreciation. The central bank also sold 40 mln GEL at foreign exchange auction on March 25, while it sold another $40 mln on March 19 and $20 mln on March 13.