BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan's central bank sold dollars on the domestic market on Wednesday, for the first time in three months, as the local som currency dropped 3.4% against the dollar, the Central Asian nation's financial regulator said.
Asked about the volatility, the central bank said in an email that it was a natural feature of the floating exchange rate regime. The bank sold $10.4 million on the domestic market on Wednesday.
The som has lost 11.7% of its value against the dollar this year as Kyrgyzstan's economy depends heavily on remittances from migrant labourers working in Russia, which has been hit hard by a drop in oil prices.
The former Soviet republic has also once again started tightening restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus after the number of cases more than tripled last month following the lifting of lockdowns in key cities.
Lockdowns and border closures have been especially damaging for Kyrgyzstan because of its status as a regional trading hub for Chinese consumer goods.
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