Kazakh national currency devalued to prevent economy destabilizationFebruary 11, 2014 - 13:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Kazakhstan’s central bank devalued the national currency by 18.9 percent Tuesday, Feb 11, in an effort to prevent the destabilization of the country’s economy, RIA Novosti reports. The oil-rich Central Asian state will keep the tenge at a rate of 182-188 to the U.S. dollar, Kazakhstan’s National Bank said in a statement. The official rate of the tenge was 155.56 to the dollar Monday. Kazakhstan will ease support for the national currency and reduce interventions on the market, the Almaty-based bank said. In recent years, Kazakhstan had maintained the tenge’s value at 145-155 per dollar. The bank said Kazakhstan is deeply integrated in the global economy and cannot ignore the current situation on the world financial and commodity markets. “As a result of the exchange rate adjustment, competitive conditions will improve for domestic goods and entrepreneurs working in export and import-substituting spheres of the economy in Kazakhstan,” the statement said. The devaluation of the tenge follows the weakening of the ruble, which last month fell to its lowest level against the dollar since March 2009, before regaining ground to stand at 34.76 rubles to the dollar Tuesday. Russia’s central bank, which controls the value of the ruble through interventions on the currency market, has repeatedly widened the target trading band for the ruble in recent months. The bank has said it plans to move toward a free floating ruble by the end of this year. A weaker ruble means larger profits for Russian exporters and a windfall for the state budget, which is dependent on revenue from commodity exports. Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. |