YEREVAN, February 8. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Central Bank denied today media allegations claiming that it uses ‘repressive’ measures to stabilize the exchange rate of the national currency, the dram. Central Bank spokesman Harutyun Berberyan told ARKA news agency that media reports are based on what he described as ‘inappropriate assumptions.”
Several local media outlets claimed today, citing their own sources, that the regulator does not allow local commercial banks to buy US dollars. Some of the reports went as far to claim that the Central Bank’s decision to put into circulation new generation banknotes was evidence of economic instability.
Harutyun Berberyan said local media outlets and their “well-informed sources close to the Central Bank”, could visit the Central Bank’s official webpage to see how much of forex it sells daily before making such allegations.
“Instead of trusting “sources close to the Central Bank,” media outlets should not be too lazy and check the information on interventions made by the regulator, which is available on its website,” Berberyan suggested.
As for the release of new generation banknotes, the conclusion made by the media that this indicates the country’s economic instability is simply ridiculous, he added.
“We again urge the media to seek comments from the Central Bank before publishing unverified stories, based on their own assumptions or ‘analyses,’ he said.
According to the Central Bank, the USD has been growing slightly since the beginning of 2019. On January 8 the greenback traded at 484.37 drams, today the exchange rate has grown to 488.69 drams. –0–
