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 | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |