Georgian central bank sells $40 mln to supply foreign currency to the market
The NBG Head Koba Gvenetadze said last week that the central bank will sell more than $200 million by the end of this year. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
Tweet 
Share
The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) sold $40 million during its foreign exchange auction today.
The average weighted bid rate was 3.2641.
The NBG Head Koba Gvenetadze said last week that the central bank will sell more than $200 million by the end of this year.
He explained that the purpose of the interventions is not to control the lari's depreciation against the US dollar, but serves to supply foreign currency to the market.
I would like to remind you that Georgia has a floating exchange rate regime, which is an optimal choice for a small, open economy like ours. Interventions during the pandemic do not interfere with the market behavior of the lari. The aim of the current interventions is to supply foreign currency to the market.
Although it is impossible to say where the equilibrium exchange rate of a currency is in terms of floating exchange rate, in all probability, the lari has depreciated past its equilibrium point today. After overcoming the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and overcoming the traditional election campaigning, the rate will return to its equilibrium point", said Gvenetadze.
Gvenetadze said that the impact of the pandemic on the Georgian economy was mainly reflected in the practical disappearance of revenues from tourism.
He said that the country’s economic team has attracted large amounts of foreign currency aid in to assist the pandemic-damaged economy, which will be provided to the economy in stages this year and possibly in the first half of next year.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s health impact has been well-contained, but it has had a significant impact on economic activity, reads the statement of the mission Chief for Georgia at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mercedes Vera-Martin.
The lari (GEL) has depreciated against the US dollar by about two per cent, following an increased number of new coronavirus cases in Georgia and the upcoming parliamentary elections, said National Bank of Georgia (NBG) Head Koba Gvenetadze.
The volume of money transfers to Georgia in August 2020 was $184.2 million, which is a 25.8 per cent increase compared to August 2019, says the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).
Georgia is forecast to return to economic growth of 4.5 per cent in 2021 thanks to expected recoveries in tourism, private consumption, investment, and net exports, following a contraction this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report, the Asian Development Outlook 2020 Update.
Georgian Agriculture Minister Levan Davitashvili says that if necessary the government will subsidise the increase in food prices again.
The financial system of Georgia was prepared to meet the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic and maintained resilience thanks to the financial stability policy that has been implemented in recent years, reads the National Bank of Georgia's (NBG) Financial Stability Committee report published today.
The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) sold $30 million during its foreign exchange auction today. The average weighted bid rate was 3.2168. This was the fifth intervention since September 10, 2020. During the past two months the NBG has sold $170 million.
The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) sold $40 million during its foreign exchange auction today. The average weighted bid rate was 3.2173. This was the sixth intervention since September 10, 2020. During the past two months the NBG has sold $200 million.
The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) sold $40 million at its foreign exchange auction today.