DUSHANBE, April 17, 2015, Asia-Plus — The National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) says operations of currency-exchange points belonging to physical entities are suspended in the country beginning on April 17.
An order released by Tajik central bank of April 16, in particular, says that for the purpose of providing sustainability of the country’s currency market and stability of the somoni exchange rate and protecting interests of customers of lending institutions operations of currency-exchange offices belonging to physical entities are suspended over the whole territory of the country beginning on April 17.
We will recall that in a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, the NBT first deputy head Jamshed Yusufiyon revealed on March 13 that the NBT stops the direct selling of the foreign currency to population due to disorders that have taken place at the currency-exchange offices.
Since last month, additional currency injections into the cash market have reportedly been carried out through commercial banks.
It should be noted that some currency-exchange points in Tajikistan belong to commercial banks and some others belong to private entities.
Meanwhile, the value of the somoni (TJS) has continued to depreciate against USD over the past week, registering an average market buying rate of the dollar against the somoni (the buying rate is the rate at which money dealers buy foreign currency) 1:6.33 on April 17, up from 1: 6.2675 on April 10.
On April 17, the market buying rate of the dollar against the somoni in Dushanbe, Khujand, Kulob and Qurghon Teppa was 1:6.33. In Khorog, the capital of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), the market buying rate of the dollar against the somoni on April 17 was 1:6.25.
