Shortage of dollar in Tajikistan at this time of year has become common and Tajik central bank analysts attribute the current shortage of dollar to increasing negative trade balance and construction of strategic facilities.
According to them, seasonal intensification of production and commercial activities has also led to increasing demand for the dollar in the country.
Besides, public debt repayment influences the volume of the currency cash in the country’s market, an official source at the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“Using the increasing demand for foreign currency and insufficient supply of it, some subjects speculate in foreign currency, the source added.
According to him, special groups comprising representative of the Prosecutor-General’s Office an NBT have been set up prevent activities of illegal currency markets.
Every day, lending agencies reportedly provide foreign currency cash in the amount of 1.5 million U.S. dollars for sale.
Meanwhile, Tajik currency market has been experiencing an acute shortage of U.S. dollars since the beginning of the year. Local banks reportedly have no dollars to speak of.
Currency-exchange points of local banks have stopped selling U.S. dollars because of lack of the U.S. currency.
Shortage of dollars in circulation in Tajikistan has led to devaluation of the national currency, the somoni.
The current average buying rate (the buying rate is the rate at which money dealers will buy foreign currency) of the dollar against the somoni set by the currency-exchange points is 1:9.43.
Meanwhile, the black market, which has come under intensified scrutiny in the past couple of years, is currently trading the US currency at around 10.03 somoni,
Tajikistan has mainly resorted to “administrative resources” to keep the currency on an even keel.
In December 2015, the National Bank ordered the closure of all unauthorized currency exchange points in the city. After that, only banks were able to perform foreign exchange operations. Anybody found violating this new arrangement could face jail terms of up to nine years. Also, banks are forbidden by law from selling somoni at more than 2.0 percent the rate established by the National Bank.
The Tajik authorities consider that in 2019 the Tajik national currency will lose not more than 3.0 percent of its value against the dollar.
