USD, RUB transactions decreased in Armenia`s interbank foreign  exchange market, March 17 -21, 2025

ArmInfo. From March 17 to March 21, 2025, RUB transactions were  conducted daily and USD  transactions were  conducted four times in the Armenian interbank  foreign exchange market, while euro transactions ceased to be  conducted again. As a result, the weekly trend of dollar transactions  reversed from 24% growth towards 21% decline. This trend was also  observed in  RUB transactions, which reversed from a 21.4% growth to  a 3% decline. As a result, the ratio of the weekly volume of dollar  transactions to ruble transactions decreased from 1.7 to 1.3 times.  Additionally, in the intra-bank foreign exchange market during the  reporting week (17-21.03.25 compared to 10-14.03.25) there was an  increase in both buying and selling of dollars and rubles. However,   in euro transactions the growth in sales  accelerated  while the   buying trend shifted from growth to decline. 

From March 17 to  March 21 of this year, the AMD experienced a  weakening trend against both the USD - from  AMD 391.3 to AMD 392  /$1, and the EUR - from AMD 425 to AMD 426.3/1 EUR. Simultaneously,  it maintained a devaluation trend against the RUB - from AMD 4.49 to  AMD 4.56 /1 RUB. By comparison, on March 21, 2024, the AMD exchange  rate to the USD was AMD 398 / $ 1, to the EUR - AMD 433 / 1 EUR, and  to the RUB - AMD 4.27  / 1RUB. This shows the annual revaluation of  the dram against the dollar and euro, while experiencing a  devaluation against the ruble. 

According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, the total  volume of dollar transactions in the interbank foreign exchange  market from March 17 to 21 this year, amounted to $ 13 million, with  an average rate of AMD 392.98 / $ 1 (compared to AMD 394.05 / $ 1 the  previous week). The total volume of ruble transactions amounted to  825 million rubles with an average rate of  AMD 4.66  / 1 RUB  (compare to AMD 4.46 / 1 RUB the previous week). Overall, the  interbank foreign exchange  market was active throughout the  reporting week. However, it is worth noting that there were no USD  transactions  on Tuesday (March 18). The highest volume of USD  transactions "appeared" on Wednesday (March 19) - $7.5 million, and  the highest volumes of RUB transactions occurred on Tuesday and  Friday (March 18 and 21) - 250 million rubles each.

From March 17 to 21 of this year, the intra-bank foreign exchange  market saw a significant shift in trends, compared to the previous  week (10-14.03.25). The of buying and selling dollars reversed from a  decline of 4-16.5% to a growth of 15-18.1%. A similar trend was  observed in ruble transactions, with buying and selling shifting from  a 14.2-11.1% decline to a 33.5-111.1% growth. EUR transactions also  experienced changes, with sales  accelerating from 13.2% to 22%  and  buying reversing from a 10% growth to a 20.2% decline.  

During the reporting week, over $126.2 million was purchased at an  average rate of AMD 389.73 /$1, 31.99 million euros at an average  rate of AMD 422.48/1EUR, and 18 billion rubles at an average rate of  AMD 4.64/1RUB. Additionally, $192.9 million was sold at an average  rate of AMD 393.10 /$1, 99.6 million euros at an average rate of AMD  429.78 /1EUR, and 5.5 billion rubles at an average rate of AMD 4.72  /1RUB. The largest volume of USD purchases occurred on Wednesday  (March 19 - $29.8 million) with the maximum sales on Friday (March 21  - over $45.1 million), the largest volume of EUR purchases occurred  on Tuesday (March 18 - 7.3 million euros) with the maximum sales on  Monday (March 17 - 23.7 million euros) and the largest volume of  ruble purchases was also on Monday (March 17 - 4.7 billion rubles)  with the maximum sales on Thursday (March 20 - 2.1 billion rubles).

According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, in 2024,  the Central Bank intervened in the foreign exchange market only in  April-October in the amount of $705.5 million, and these were only  purchase operations (in April for $20 million, in May for $136.5  million, in June for $100 million, in July for $110 million, in  August for $132.3 million, in September for $119 million and in  October for $87.7 million). Moreover, in terms of purchase  operations, the dram rate weakened to October AMD 388.03 /$1 from  last year's September AMD 386.60/$1, when purchase operations were  last carried out in 2023, while compared to the December 2022 rate,  it strengthened from AMD 393.50 /$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 AMD 394.84r/$1, AMD 413.75/1 EUR and AMD  3.84/1 RUB, and the sale rate at the level of AMD 398.16 /$1, AMD  420.09/1 EUR and AMD 3.97/1 RUB, against the December 2023 AMD  402.72/$1, AMD 437.90 /1 EUR, AMD 4.43 /1 RUB - for purchase, and AMD  406.14 /$1, AMD 445.57/1 EUR,  AMD 4.50/1 RUB - for sale.

In 2024, dollar transactions worth $993.4 million and ruble  transactions worth 39.2 billion rubles were made in the interbank  foreign exchange 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 foreign exchange market  both against the ruble to December's AMD 3.84/1 RUB, and against the  dollar to AMD 396.1s/$1, from December 2023's AMD 4.47/1RUB and AMD  405.62/$1, respectively. In the interbank foreign exchange 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 AMD 388.90 to  October AMD 387.75/$1. In November-December, the currency exchange  platform was empty.  RUB transactions in the Armenian foreign  exchange 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 foreign exchange market in  March-December 2022 from AMD 4.86 to 5.8/1 RUB, but by the end of  2023 the dram strengthened against the ruble to AMD 4.47 /1 RUB.