Azerbaijani Central Bank sees prerequisite for further growth in foreign exchange reserves

7 June 2019 14:41 (UTC+04:00)

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Azerbaijan’s strategic currency reserves increased and reached $47.5 billion in late April, Trend reports on June 7 referring to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA).

According to CBA, the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves increased by 6.2 percent compared to early 2019. Most of these funds account for the assets of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ).

As of early April 2019, over $40.273 billion accounted for the assets, that is, the assets increased by 4.56 percent compared to early 2019, when they were at the level of $38.515 billion.

At the end of May, almost $5.871 billion accounted for the CBA’s own foreign exchange reserves compared to $5.625 billion in the same period last year. Thus, in January-May 2019, the CBA’s foreign exchange reserves increased by 4.3 percent.

"Azerbaijan’s strategic currency reserves increased by 6.2 percent, which testifies that the balance of payments is formed with a surplus," CBA stressed.

According to CBA, the situation in foreign markets remains favorable. A positive balance of Azerbaijan’s foreign trade balance has been observed since early 2019. The export is growing, including the export of non-oil items.

The Central Bank predicts that the favourable international situation for Azerbaijan will continue. Special attention is paid to the oil prices, which have increased by 24 percent since the beginning of the year, as well as to world food prices, which have declined by 2.2 percent.

According to many experts, oil prices will remain favorable for oil-producing countries.

Azerbaijan’s strategic currency reserves are formed from the CBA reserves, SOFAZ’s assets and the funds of the Ministry of Finance.

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