More active RUB transactions in Armenia`s interbank foreign exchange market May 19-23, 2025

ArmInfo.  May 19 to 23, 2025, in Armenia's interbank foreign exchange market, USD transactions showed further growth, with RUB ones showing a growth and no EUR transactions effected for two months. RUB transactions showed a 75%  growth against a 30.4% decline the previous week USD transactions showed a 12% growth against 62% growth. The total amount of USD transactions exceeded that of RUB transactions 1.1-fold against 1.7-fold the previous week. 

During the period under review against the previous week (May 12-16, 2025), in the intrabank foreign exchange market, USD, EUR and RUB purchases and sales showed a decline against a growth. 

May 19 to 23, 2025, saw further AMD appreciation against the USD - AMD 386.8/$1 to AMD 384.5/$1, with no change in the AMD/EUR exchange rate - AMD 434/EUR 1, and further AMD depreciation against the RUB - AMD 4.73/RUB 1 to AMD 4.78/RUB 1. 

On May 16, 2025, the USD/AMD exchange rate was AMD 388/$1, EUR/AMD exchange rate was AMD 420.5/EUR 1, and AMD/RUB exchange rate, AMD 4.27/RUB 1, which is evidence of y/y AMD appreciation against the USD and AMD depreciation against the EUR and RUB. 

According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, ruble transactions and four dollar transactions were conducted on the interbank currency market from May 19 to 23 this year, in particular, on Wednesday (May 21) only ruble transactions were carried out. As a result, the total weekly volume of dollar transactions amounted to $9.5 million with an average rate of 384.81 dr/$1 (against 387.49 dr/$1 a week earlier), and ruble transactions - 700 million rubles with an average rate of 4.77 dr/1RUB (against 4.80 dr/1RUB a week earlier). The maximum volume of dollar transactions "appeared" on Thursday (May 22) - $3.5 million, and the largest identical volumes of ruble transactions occurred on Tuesday and Friday (May 20 and 23) - 200 million rubles each.

On the intra-bank currency market from May 19 to 23 of this year, in comparison with the previous week (12-16.05.25), the trend of buying and selling dollars reversed from 46.2-36.1% growth towards 9.5-14.5% decline, which was also observed both in the trend of buying and selling euros - from 255-93% growth to 48.8-16% decline, and in the trend of buying and selling rubles - from 51.5-82.1% growth to 17.8-24.4% decline. As a result, during the reporting week, $139.9 million was purchased at an average rate of 382.95 dr/$1, 53.1  million euros at an average rate of 429.56 dr/1EUR, and 16.9 billion rubles. at an average rate of 4.75 dr/1RUB, and $219.7 million were sold at an average rate of 386.47 dr/$1, 79.4 million euros at an average rate of 437.60 dr/1EUR, and 2.6 billion rubles at an average rate of 4.85 dr/1RUB. The largest volume of purchases and sales of euros and rubles was recorded on Monday (May 19 - 32.4-20.5 million  euros and 5 billion - 822.7 million rubles), and the maximum volume of dollar sales occurred on the same day (May 19 - $52.6 million) with the largest volume of purchases on Tuesday (May 20 - $36.9 million).

According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, in the first quarter of 2025, the Central Bank intervened in the foreign exchange market in February and March alone for a total of $94 million, strengthening the exchange rate from 394.19 drams/$1 in February to 393.14 drams/$1 in March, and these were only purchase operations. 

In the intra-bank foreign exchange market in the first quarter of  2025, $1.5 billion, 444.5 million euros and 171.8 billion rubles were purchased, and $2.2 billion, 892.2 million euros and 51.1 billion rubles were sold.  This formed the purchase rate on the intra-bank foreign exchange market in March at the level of 390.77 dr/$1, 419.57 dr/1 euro and 4.53 dr/1 ruble, and the sale rate at the level of 394.14 dr/$1, 426.95 dr/1 euro and 4.65 dr/1 ruble, against the December 2024 394.84 dr/$1, 413.75 dr/1 euro, 3.84 dr/1 ruble - for buying, and 398.16 dr/$1, 420.09 dr/1 euro, 3.97 dr/1 ruble - for selling.

In the interbank currency market in Q1 2025, dollar transactions totaling $191 million and ruble transactions totaling 6.8 billion rubles were made, while euro transactions were made only in February- March for a total of 1.7 million euros. This was accompanied by a weakening of the dram against the ruble and euro on the interbank currency market to March's 4.54 drams/1 ruble and 426.25 drams/1 EUR, and a slight strengthening against the dollar to 393.65 drams/$1, from December 2024's 3.84 drams/1 ruble, 414.25 drams/1 EUR and 396.1 drams/$1, respectively. 

On the interbank currency market for this period, the largest volume of dollar transactions was made in January ($81 million), ruble transactions in March (2.95 billion rubles), and euro transactions in February (1 million euros). 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 drams/$1. 

In November-December, the currency exchange platform was empty. Then in 2025, in the first quarter, dollar transactions for $1.850 million were carried out on the currency exchange platform, accompanied by the strengthening of the dram from January 398.75 to March 393.14 drams/$1. Let us recall that ruble transactions on the interbank currency market of Armenia 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 then there was a strengthening of the dram against the ruble to 4.47 drams/1 ruble by the end of 2023 and further to 3.84 drams/1 ruble by the end of 2024.