ArmInfo. Dollar transactions and the same number of ruble transactions were conducted on the Armenian interbank currency market from February 24 to 28, 2025.
Resumed euro transactions appeared on the interbank currency market only once. As a result, the weekly trend of dollar transactions remained in decline with a slowdown from 26% to 10%, while the trend of ruble transactions reversed from 67% growth to a 17% decline. As a result, the prevalence of the weekly volume of dollar transactions over ruble transactions remained almost unchanged, moving from 1.2 times to 1.3 times, while exceeding the volume of euro transactions by 8.6 times.
In parallel with this, in the intra-bank currency market during the reporting week (24-28.02.25 compared to 17-21.02.25) the trend of buying and selling dollars has grown, buying and selling euros continued to grow, but more slowly, and in ruble transactions the buying trend has turned towards a decline with a sharp acceleration in sales growth. As a result, from 24 to 28 February this year the dram "froze" against the dollar at the level of 394 drams/$1, continuing to strengthen against the euro - from 413.5 to 412.5 drams/1 euro, and maintaining a devaluation mood against the ruble - from 4.38 to 4.43 drams/1 ruble. A year earlier, on February 28, 2024, the dram exchange rate to the dollar was 404.8 drams/$1, to the euro - 439.3 drams/1 euro, and to the ruble - 4.39 drams/1 ruble, which, compared to current rates, indicates an annual revaluation of the dram to the dollar and euro, with a devaluation to the ruble.
According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, the total volume of dollar transactions on the interbank currency market from February 24 to 28 of this year amounted to $9 million with an average rate of 393.85 drams/$1 (against 395.75 drams/$1 a week earlier), the total volume of ruble transactions amounted to 625 million rubles with an average rate of 4.52 drams/1RUB (against 4.34 drams/1RUB a week earlier), and the volume of the only euro transaction amounted to 1 million euro with an average rate of 413.75 drams/1EUR. In particular, the interbank currency market was active throughout the reporting week, but dollar transactions were made on Monday-Thursday, ruble transactions - on Tuesday-Friday, and the only euro transaction occurred on Wednesday. The maximum volume of dollar transactions "appeared" on Wednesday (February 26) - $3 million (February 26), and the largest volume of ruble transactions - 325 million rubles - occurred on the same day.
On the intra-bank currency market from February 24 to 28 of this year, in comparison with the previous week (17-21.02.25), the trend of buying and selling dollars went from a 2.1-13.4% decline to a 7.6-8.2% growth, for euro transactions the growth of buying and selling slowed from 5.2-11.1% to 2-3.4%, and for ruble transactions the reversal of the buying trend from 7% growth towards a 17% decline was accompanied by a pronounced acceleration in sales growth from 22% to 99%. As a result, during the reporting week, $113.1 million was purchased at an average rate of 391.95 dr/$1, 31.15 million euros at an average rate of 408.46 dr/1EUR, and 13.2 billion rubles. at an average rate of 4.46 dr/1RUB, and $168.1 million were sold at an average rate of 394.84 dr/$1, over 93.1 million euros at an average rate of 416.08 dr/1EUR, and over 6.6 billion rubles at an average rate of 4.55 dr/1RUB. The largest volume of dollar and euro purchases occurred on Friday (February 28 - $31.2 million and 8.3 million euros) with the maximum sales of these currencies on Tuesday (February 25 - $42.4 million and 22.9 million euros), and the largest volumes of ruble purchases were recorded on Monday (February 24 - 3.25 billion rubles) with the maximum sales on Friday (February 28 - 4.1 billion rubles).
According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, in 2024, the Central Bank intervened in the foreign exchange market in the amount of $705.5 million only in April-October, and these were only purchase operations (in April by $20 million, in May by $136.5 million, in June by $100 million, in July by $110 million, in August by $132.3 million, in September by $119 million and in October by $87.7 million). Moreover, in purchase operations, the dram exchange rate weakened to October 388.03 drams/$1 from last year's September 386.60 drams/$1, when purchase operations were last carried out in 2023, while strengthening compared to the December 2022 rate from 393.50 drams/$1.
In the intra-bank foreign exchange market in 2024, $6.8 billion, 1.7 billion euros and 770.7 billion rubles were purchased, and $9.96 billion, 3.6 billion euros and 266.1 billion rubles were sold. This formed the purchase rate on the intra-bank currency market in December at the level of 394.84 dr/$1, 413.75 dr/1 euro and 3.84 dr/1 ruble, and the sale rate at the level of 398.16 dr/$1, 420.09 dr/1 euro and 3.97 dr/1 ruble, against the December 2023 402.72 dr/$1, 437.90 dr/1 euro, 4.43 dr/1 ruble - for purchase, and 406.14 dr/$1, 445.57 dr/1 euro, 4.50 dr/1 ruble - for sale.
In 2024, dollar transactions worth $993.4 million and ruble transactions worth 39.2 billion rubles were made on the interbank currency market, while the volume of euro transactions amounted to 47.8 million euros (no transactions with this currency were made only in June and November). This was accompanied by the strengthening of the dram on the interbank currency market both against the ruble to December's 3.84 drams/1 ruble, and against the dollar to 396.1 drams/$1, from December 2023's 4.47 drams/1 ruble and 405.62 drams/$1, respectively. On the interbank currency market, the largest volumes of dollar and euro transactions ($195.3 million and 14.4 million euros) were made in September, and ruble transactions in August (7.2 billion rubles).
The currency exchange platform, after eight years of "silence", began to operate in June 2024 and in five months (June-October) dollar transactions were carried out for a total of $14.7 million, accompanied by the strengthening of the dram from June 388.90 to October 387.75 dram/$1. In November-December, the currency exchange platform was empty.
Ruble transactions on the Armenian interbank currency market started on March 14, 2022 and from that moment until the end of the year, transactions worth 8.7 billion rubles were carried out, and another 17.5 billion rubles for the whole of 2023. This was accompanied by a weakening of the dram against the ruble on the interbank currency market in March-December 2022 from 4.86 to 5.8 drams/1 ruble, but by the end of 2023 the dram strengthened against the ruble to 4.47 drams/1 ruble.
