YEREVAN, March 27. /ARKA/. The Armenian dram may further drop – by another 15-20% in the next months, provoking a new inflation wave, former prime-minister of Armenia, member of the National Assembly Hrant Bagratyan said in his interview to Zhamanak (Time) newspaper.
The current dram versus dollar rate does not reflect the actual situation, he said.
Two factors help maintain the current rate level, according to Bagratyan. First, remittances continue to arrive in the country, and, the second, state reserves are reduced by some 50-100 million dollars every month, he said.
“It is an artificial rate that is maintained to avoid substantial change in dram versus dollar rate and to prevent high inflation. But everybody understands that dram will depreciate by another 15-20% in several months, unleashing a new wave of inflation,” the ex-premier said. –0–