Published
01/07/2025, 09:24National Bank of Kazakhstan commented on the current situation on the currency market. Deputy Chairman of the NBK Aliya Moldabekova said that on 5 January the exchange rate opened at KZT525 per U.S. dollar and traded in a range of KZT525-528 per dollar. The weighted average rate at the end of trading was 526.3 tenge per dollar, reflecting a weakening of 0.2%.
Recall, in December 2024 tenge experienced a significant weakening. On the last working day of the year the dollar rate, announced by the National Bank, was 523.54 tenge. This was influenced by the decline in the exchange rate of the Russian ruble against the dollar, which fell in price to 101.68 rubles per dollar. Such dynamics led to additional pressure on Kazakhstan currency, which reached a historic low, exceeding the mark of KZT530 per dollar.
Trades on 5 January were held in conditions of low activity due to the closure of international financial markets. Trading volume was only $119.5 m., which is much lower than last year's figures. For comparison, in January 2024 the average daily trading volume was $172 mn, and in December 2024 it reached $254 mn. The demand of market participants was caused by accumulation of short positions on the dollar over the holiday weekend.
‘The tenge exchange rate continues to be under pressure from the strengthening US dollar, whose index has reached 108 points, its highest value in two years. This reflects high investor interest in the US currency, which has a negative impact on the currencies of developing countries,’ she said.
Additional pressure is associated with the dynamics of the Russian ruble, which weakened to 110.6 rubles per dollar on 3 January 2025. However, as noted by Aliya Moldabekova, the Russian ruble is subject to specific factors, including sanctions pressure and low liquidity during the holiday period. In this regard, its fluctuations should not be directly reflected in the rate of tenge to dollar.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan closely monitors the situation on the currency market. If necessary, in case of unreasonable pressure on the tenge, not caused by fundamental factors, the Bank is ready to use gold and foreign exchange reserves to stabilise the exchange rate and reduce volatility.
