Head of NBK clarifies tenge’s strengthening against US dollar

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The Governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, Daniyar Akishev, has clarified what caused the appreciation in the Kazakhstani tenge's exchange rate, Kazinform correspondent reports.

Addressing the Government session, the country's central bank chief highlighted that since the year-start, the Kazakhstani tenge has been strengthening against the US dollar. As of February 8, the exchange rate was seen to be trading at KZT 378.73 per $1. The national currency of Kazakhstan has strengthened by 1.4% year-to-date.

"This comes against the background of the favorable oil market situation and the strengthening of the Russian ruble," said Daniyar Akishev.

He also added that the National Bank will continue adhering to the floating exchange rate regime.

"The National Bank's net interventions in the foreign exchange market in January 2019 were equal to zero. At the end of January, the foreign-exchange reserves of the National Bank amounted to $30.6 billion, and the National Fund's assets reached $58.2 billion. International reserves totaled $88.8 billion," Daniyar Akishev informed.