National Bank Comments On Tenge Exchange Rate

The National Bank has issued an official statement on the currency market's situation after the tenge exchange rate fell, Orda.kz reports.

The National Bank noted that the national currency has fallen against the dollar: currently, the USD/KZT pair is trading at 518-519 tenge on KASE, and the average weighted rate on November 28 is 512.58 tenge per dollar.

In just one day, the Kazakhstani currency has weakened by another 2.4%.

The regulator notes that the tenge exchange rate is subject to external and internal factors. 

External factors are primarily the global strengthening of the dollar and unstable oil prices. The weakening of the Russian ruble after the latest sanctions against the Russian financial sector also factored in. 

As for internal factors, increased demand for foreign currency with limited supply is present.

The average daily trading volume in November of this year was 238 million US dollars, which is almost one and a half times more than in November of last year (193 million US dollars) and significantly higher than the average daily trading volume in August-September,The National Bank emphasized. 

The National Bank notes that periodically, a situation arises at trades when there are simply not enough dollars, which creates conditions for speculation and disrupts the market balance.

The regulator officially acknowledged beginning currency interventions to regulate the situation.

At the same time, the rate will remain completely market-based without any attempts by the National Bank to regulate its formation.

If risks to financial stability and excessive volatility of the exchange rate that do not correspond to fundamental factors arise, the National Bank is ready to continue conducting currency interventions to restore fair exchange rate formation and ensure the normal functioning of the foreign exchange market, the National Bank emphasized.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny