YEREVAN, December 16. /ARKA/. The Central Bank of Armenia has already intervened in the foreign exchange market in the amount of $ 60 million and will perform operations again, Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia Martin Galstyan said Tuesday at a press conference.

He noted that over the past three months, Armenia's international reserves decreased by $ 381 million, but not all funds were directed to intervention, as many believe.

The head of the regulator explained that in the structure of the international reserves of the central bank there are also banks' foreign currency correspondent accounts, of which the state debt is serviced.

“We carried out only one intervention and for a very small amount - only $ 60 million, the rest is connected with the use of their funds by banks and servicing the state debt,” Galstyan said.
He said that the interventions were carried out within two days after their announcement, stressing that for the first time the central bank before the action announced this, setting a new level of transparency.

“Intervention is not an end in itself to curb the exchange rate. We do not have a specific level of the Armenian dram exchange rate, at which it is necessary to intervene, our intervention is conditioned by the stable operation of the markets, so that there is no distortion of the situation or restrictions on activities, Galstyan said.

He also noted that in the near future the central bank will conduct operations in the Armenian currency market in order to ensure the normal functioning of financial markets, as it has recorded the facts that have caused concern.

He stressed that the central bank continues to monitor financial markets, and if necessary, it will use all the available tools to guarantee the price level and financial stability.

The average market rate of the US dollar against the Armenian dram, formed on the Armenian foreign exchange market following the results of December 15, increased by 2.63 drams, up to 525.09 drams, compared to the indicator on December 14.

The rate of the American currency overcame its psychological barrier of 500 drams on November 19, when it amounted to 500.82 drams per $ 1. The last time such a rate was recorded was in March 2020. At the same time, the euro rate as of December 15 reached 638.35 drams ($ 1 – AMD 525.09). –0--