Acting National Bank Governor says body has “all necessary tools to intervene, stabilise” exchange rate”

Natia Turnava, the Acting Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, on Thursday said the bank possessed “all necessary tools” to intervene for stabilising the exchange rate of the Georgian national currency, the lari, “if required”.

Speaking at the Budget and Finance Committee of the country’s Parliament, Turnava addressed concerns over fluctuations in the exchange rate on the backdrop of political instability and ongoing public protests against the Government’s suspension of European Union accession talks.

Highlighting the current market conditions, she noted political tensions had created “some agitation”, but expressed optimism that “as the situation normalises, pressure on the exchange rate would ease”.

Today, we have all the prerequisites to maintain the balance naturally. We are already seeing the first signs of stabilisation in the currency market. There are no other economic factors leading to fundamental changes and devaluation of the lari at this stage”, Turnava said.

The Acting Governor emphasised that unlike the campaigning period before the parliamentary elections in October, where she said a “negative outlook” had led to a spike in demand for dollars, the market was now “showing signs of balance” with participation from both buyers and sellers of foreign currency.

Non-economic factors naturally exist, but we do not think that our intervention is necessary today. At the same time, of course, the lever of intervention is in our hands, and if necessary, we will again use the mandated right and help the market”, she added.

The official exchange rate on Tuesday showed $1 at ₾2.8468 and €1 at ₾2.9894 in relation to the national currency.