Dollar transactions decreased and  ruble transactions increased in  Armenia`s interbank foreign exchange market, April 14-18, 2025

ArmInfo. From April 14 to 18, 2025, there were four dollar transactions and an equal number of ruble transactions in the Armenian interbank foreign exchange market.  However, there were no euro transactions during this period. As a result, the weekly trend for dollar transactions shifted from a 13%  growth to an 8% decline, while ruble transactions which had the same  volume as the previous week, increased by over 2 times. This led to a  decrease in the dominance of dollar transactions over ruble  transactions from 2.8 to 1.2 times in terms of total volume.

 During the reporting week (14-18.04.25 compared to 07-11.04.25),  there was an increase in the purchase and sale of dollars in the  intrabank foreign exchange market. In euro and ruble transactions the  increase in purchases was accompanied by a continuing decline in  sales. As a result, from April 14 to 18, the dram began to strengthen  against the dollar - from 391.5 to 390 drams/$1. However, it  continued to weaken against both the euro, going from AMD 440.5 to  AMD 444/1 EUR, and against the ruble, dropping from AMD 4.60 to AMD  4.71 drams/1RUB. A year earlier, on April 18, 2024, the dram exchange  rate to the dollar was AMD 392.8 /$1, to the euro - AMD 420.5/1EUR,  and to the ruble - AMD 4.14/1 RUB. These rates, when compared to  current rates, indicate an annual revaluation of the dram to the  dollar, with a devaluation to the euro and 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 April 14 to April 18 of this year amounted to $14.5  million with an average rate of AMD 391.89/$1 (compared to AMD 391.76  /$1 a week earlier). The total volume of ruble transactions was 995  million rubles with an average rate of AMD 4.73 drams/1RUB (compared  to AMD 4.58/1RUB a week earlier). Throughout the reporting week,  the  interbank foreign exchange market was active every day. Notably, only  ruble transactions were conducted on Monday (April 14), and only  dollar transactions on Tuesday (April 15). On the other days, both  dollar and ruble transactions took place simultaneously. The maximum  volume of dollar transactions "occurred" on Wednesday (April 16) -  $8.5 million, while the largest volume of ruble transactions was  recorded on Friday (April 18) - 225 million rubles.

From April 14 to 18, 2025, the interbank foreign exchange market saw  a shift in trends compared to the previous week (07-11.04.25). The  buying and selling dollars reversed from a 31-11% decline towards a  44- 13% growth. Euro transactions also saw changes, with  buying from  a 34% decline to a 22% growth, and sales declining from 28% to 19%.  Similar trends were observed  in ruble transactions, but with sales  declining faster  from 15.3% to 24.1%, while buying increased from a  4.2% decline to a 48% growth. 

As a result, during the reporting week, a total of $162.8 million was  purchased at an average rate of AMD 389.20 /$1, along with 37.7  million euros at an average rate of AMD 438.68 /1EUR, and over 17  billion rubles at an average rate of AMD 4.69/1RUB. Additionally,   $220.9 million was sold at an average rate of AMD 392.35 /$1, 47.3  million euros at an average rate of AMD 447.48 /1EUR, and 2.42  billion rubles at an average rate of AMD 4.80 /1RUB. The largest  volume of sales of dollars and rubles was recorded on Tuesday (April  15 - $45.5 million and 606.1 million rubles), while the maximum  volume of euro purchases occurred on the same day (April 15 - 7.9  million euros). The largest volumes of ruble and dollar purchases  were recorded on Monday and Friday (April 14 - over 4 billion rubles,  April 18 - over $47.6 million), with the maximum volume of euro sales  happening on Wednesday (April 16 - 12.2 million euros).

According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, in 2024,  the Central Bank intervened in the foreign exchange market with a  total of $705.5 million only in April-October. These interventions  were only purchase operations ($20 million in April, $136.5 million  in May, $100 million in June,  $110 million in July,  $132.3 million  in August,  $119 million in September and  $87.7 million in October).  During these purchase operations, the dram exchange rate weakened to  AMD 388.03/$1 by October from previous year's September rate of  AMD386.60/$1, when the last purchase operations were carried out in  2023. However, the exchange rate showed improvement compared to the  December 2022 rate from AMD 393.50 /$1. In the intra-bank foreign  exchange market in 2024, a total of $6.8 billion, 1.7 billion euros  and 770.7 billion rubles were purchased, while $9.96 billion, 3.6  billion euros and 266.1 billion rubles were sold. 

In December, 2024,  the purchase rates on the intra-bank foreign  exchange market were AMD 394.84 /$1, AMD 413.75 /1 EUR and AMD 3.84  /1RUB, and the sale  rates were AMD 398.16 /$1, AMD 420.09 /1 EUR and  AMD 3.97 /1RUB, compared to  December 2023 rates of AMD 402.72/$1,  AMD 437.90 /1EUR, AMD 4.43 /1RUB - for buying, and AMD 406.14/$1, AMD  445.57/1 EUR, AMD 4.50/1 RUB - for selling.  In 2024, dollar  transactions totaled $993.4 million and ruble transactions totaled  39.2 billion rubles  in the interbank currency market, and euro  transactions reached 47.8 million euros (the only months without euro  transactions were June and November).

 This was accompanied by the strengthening of the dram in the  interbank foreign exchange market both against the ruble reaching AMD  3.84/1 RUB in December, and against the dollar, reaching AMD 396.1  /$1, compared to December 2023's AMD 4.47 /1 RUB and AMD 405.62/$1,  respectively.  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) in the interbank  foreign exchange market. After eight years of being inactive, the  currency exchange platform resumed operations in June 2024 and in   the five months from June to October, dollar transactions totaled   $14.7 million, accompanied by the strengthening of the dram from AMD  388.90 in June to AMD 387.75 / $ 1 October. In November-December, the  currency exchange platform remained empty.

Let us recall that ruble transactions in the Armenian interbank  currency market began on March 14, 2022 and from that point until the  end of the year, transactions totaling 8.7 billion rubles were  carried out, with additional 17.5 billion rubles projected for all of  2023. During this period, the dram weakened against the ruble in the  interbank foreign exchange market dropping from AMD 4.86 to AMD 5.8   / 1RUB in March- December 2022. However, by the end of 2023, the dram  strengthened against the ruble to AMD 4.47  / 1 ruble.