Azerbaijan limits currency exchange amid currency slide

The Azerbaijani manat lost has around half of its value since late December when the nation’s central bank scrapped the currency’s peg to the dollar and let the currency float.

Rising prices have led to outbursts of public anger in several regions of the country, and 55 people were detained at a protest in the northern region of Siyazan, the public prosecutor and interior ministry said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

The limiting of currency operations is aimed at preventing the manat from tumbling further and boosting the price of imports in the country of 9.4 million people, nestled between Russia and Iran.

"Due to a rising [number] of currency conversions, commercial banks have suspended operations at exchange offices for an efficient and timely regulation of transactions, for increased control of transactions and costs optimization,” the central bank said in a statement published on Azerbaijani media.

Currency exchange operations were still possible at bank branches as well as hotels and airports.

On Thursday, the manat slid to a record low of 1.5706 against the dollar, which is 50% weaker than a year ago when it traded at 0.7844. From February to December 21 last year, the manat was steady at around 1.05 versus the dollar.

Azerbaijan, which gets nearly 90% of its revenue from oil and gas exports, was the latest oil-dependent emerging economy to devalue its currency as oil prices hit their lowest levels since 2004. Russia’s ruble and Kazakhstan’s tenge have already lost around half their value compared with 2014 highs.

 

(WSJ)