Deterring the revaluation of AMD in H1, 2019 Central Bank intervened  for the purchase of foreign currency in the amount of $ 185.3 million  with 4-fold y-o-y growth 

ArmInfo. During the first half  of 2019, the Central Bank of Armenia in the foreign exchange market  carried out interventions only to purchase foreign currency in the  amount of $ 185.250 million in total, which is 4-fold higher than the  same period last year.

As evidenced by the data published in the  monthly report of the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, the  largest volume of Central Bank interventions in the period under  review was in June - $ 96.6 million with a monthly increase of  3.6-fold.

According to the Central Bank, previous interventions occurred in  March - $ 5 million, in April - $ 56.650 million and in May - $ 27  million. For the first half of this year, during the Central Bank's  interventions, the dram exchange rate against the dollar fell from  March 485.93 AMD / $ 1 to June 478.29 AMD / $ 1.  Moreover, in June  the pace of dram revaluation against the dollar slowed to 1.6 points,  against 3.0 points in previous months (March-May monthly).

As ArmInfo analysts note, in conditions of floating exchange rate,  interventions can serve both to mitigate exchange rate fluctuations,  maintain sufficient liquidity in the foreign exchange market to avoid  increased exchange rate volatility, and to gradually accumulate  international reserves as a security buffer. The change in the gross  international reserves of Armenia in the first half of 2019 indicates  that by July 1 the Central Bank of Armenia increased them by 11.5%  per annum to $ 2.216 billion, due to an almost similar increase in  foreign assets dominating in their structure in hard currency (by 11,  2%). Moreover, in the first half of this year gross international  reserves decline was observed only in January (by 11.7%), after which  growth was recorded in the following months - from February to June  by 11.1%.

According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, for the  first half of 2019, $ 2.265 billion and 420.64 million euros were  bought on the intra-bank foreign exchange market, and $ 2.408 billion  and 520.7 million euros were sold. At the foreign exchange interbank  for the first half of 2019, transactions in the amount of $ 421.56  million were carried out, which was accompanied by a revaluation of  the dram from January 486.24 AMD/ $ 1 to June 478.38 AMD / $ 1.  Exchange currency platform in the first half of this year continued  to be idle.  It should be noted that, as of September 9, 2019, at  1:00pm, in the retail foreign exchange market, the AMD exchange rate  against the dollar averaged 476.8 AMD / $ 1, against 484.8 AMD / $ 1  on the same date a year earlier and 484 AMD / $ 1 at the end of  December 2018