ArmInfo. On the Armenian Interbank Currency Market from January 5 to January 9, 2026, an increase in dollar transactions was accompanied by a decline in ruble transactions, while euro transactions remained silent.
Specifically, the dollar transaction trend reversed a 44.4% decline to a 90% increase, while the ruble transaction decline deepened from 33% to 83%. This allowed the weekly dollar transaction volume to regain its dominant position, significantly outperforming ruble transactions by a factor of 7.6. Meanwhile, on the intrabank foreign exchange market during the reporting week (January 5-9, 2026 compared to December 29-30, 2025), dollar buying remained in decline while sales began to rise, euro buying and selling moved from a decline to an increase, and both ruble buying and selling remained in decline with a slight slowdown. As a result, from January 5-9, 2026, the dram continued to weaken against the dollar, from 382 to 382.5 drams per US dollar, while strengthening against the euro, from 447.5 to 444 drams per euro, and against the ruble, from 4.85 to 4.73 drams per ruble. A year earlier, on January 9, 2025, the dram exchange rate against the dollar was 397 drams/$1, against the euro - 412.8 drams/$1, and against the ruble - 3.85 drams/$1. Compared to current rates, this indicates an annual revaluation of the dram against the dollar and a devaluation against the euro and ruble.
According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, from January 5 to 9 of this year, three dollar transactions were conducted on the interbank currency market and only one ruble transaction, both of which took place on Friday (January 9). The interbank currency market was completely empty on Monday (January 5), and January 6 was a non- working day. As a result, the total weekly dollar transaction volume amounted to $9.5 million at an average rate of 380.89 drams/$1 (versus 381.02 drams/$1 the week before), while the volume of the single ruble transaction amounted to 100 million rubles. At an average rate of 4.76 drams/1 ruble (versus 4.89 drams/1 ruble the previous week). The maximum dollar transaction volume was recorded on Friday (January 9) - $7.5 million.
On the intra-bank foreign exchange market from January 5 to 9 of this year (January 6 is a non-working day), compared to the short week at the end of the previous year (December 29-30, 2025), the decline in dollar purchases slowed from 61.1% to 12.8%, with the sales trend moving from a 52.2% decline to a 10.1% increase. For euro transactions, the purchase-sale trend moved from a 63.1-42.6% decline to a 54-35% increase, while for ruble transactions, both purchases and sales remained in decline, with a slowdown from 53-59% to 40-19%. As a result, during the reporting week, $86.5 million was purchased at an average rate of 380.38 drams/$1, 27.2 million euros at an average rate of 442.54 drams/1EUR, and 3.4 billion rubles at an average rate of 4.69 drams/1RUB, and $145.8 million was sold at an average rate of 382.89 drams/$1, 45.8 million euros at an average rate of 449.74 drams/1EUR, and 1.1 billion rubles at an average rate of 4.83 drams/1RUB. Monday saw the largest volumes of ruble purchases and sales, dollar sales, and euro purchases (January 5 - 1.3 billion rubles and 452.5 million rubles, $46.1 million, and 6.9 million euros), while the maximum dollar purchases and euro sales were recorded on Wednesday (January 7 - $26.1 million and 16.2 million euros).
According to the Central Bank of Armenia, over the 10 months of 2025, the Central Bank intervened in the foreign exchange market in a total of $1.419 billion from February to October, strengthening the exchange rate from 394.19 drams/$1 in February to 383.44 drams/$1 in October. These were only purchases. In the intra-bank foreign exchange market over the 10 months of 2025, $6.1 billion, EUR1.7 billion and RUB 592.8 billion were purchased, and $8.9 billion, EUR2.7 billion and ?149.9 billion were sold. This resulted in a buying rate of 381.49 drams/$1, 442.11 drams/EUR1, and 4.69 drams/EUR1 ruble on the intrabank foreign exchange market in October, while the selling rate was 383.69 drams/$1, 448.83 drams/EUR1, and 4.79 drams/EUR1 ruble, compared to the December 2024 buying rates of 394.84 drams/$1, 413.75 drams/EUR1, and 3.84 drams/EUR1, and the selling rate of 398.16 drams/$1, 420.09 drams/EUR1, and 3.97 drams/EUR1 ruble.
Over the 10 months of 2025, dollar transactions totaling over $485 million and ruble transactions totaling 32.1 billion rubles were conducted on the interbank currency market. Euro transactions totaling 1.9 million euros were conducted in February-March and May alone. This was accompanied by a weakening of the dram against the ruble on the interbank currency market, reaching 4.72 drams/ruble in October and a strengthening against the dollar to 383.17 drams/$1, compared to 3.84 drams/ruble and 396.1 drams/$1 in December 2024, respectively. On the interbank currency market during this period, the largest volume of dollar transactions was completed in January ($81 million), ruble transactions in May (7.7 billion rubles), and euro transactions in February (1 million euros).
After eight years of "silence," the currency exchange platform resumed operations in June 2024. Over the five-month period (June-October), dollar transactions totaling $14.7 million were conducted, accompanied by a strengthening of the dram from 388.90 AMD/$1 in June to 387.75 AMD/$1 in October. In November-December 2024, the currency exchange platform was idle. Then, in 2025, over 10 months, dollar transactions totaling $18.3 million were conducted on the currency exchange platform, accompanied by a strengthening of the dram from 398.75 AMD/$1 in January to 385.54 AMD/$1 in October. The currency exchange market was active throughout the ten months under review, reaching its peak monthly volume in August - $5.8 million.
As a reminder, ruble transactions on the Armenian interbank currency market commenced on March 14, 2022, with transactions totaling 8.7 billion rubles from then until the end of the year. Subsequently, transactions totaling 17.5 billion rubles for 2023 and 39.2 billion rubles for 2024 were completed. This was accompanied by a weakening of the dram against the ruble on the interbank currency market from March to December 2022, from 4.86 to 5.8 drams per ruble. However, a strengthening of the dram against the ruble was then observed, reaching 4.47 drams per ruble by the end of 2023 and further reaching 3.84 drams per ruble by the end of 2024. However, since 2025, the dram has weakened against the ruble again, returning to the initial exchange rate at the end of the first half of the year on the interbank currency market (4.86 drams/1 ruble). It then rose to 4.88 drams/1 ruble in July, after which it began to strengthen, reaching 4.62 drams/1 ruble in September. However, devaluation resumed in October.
