GEL Appreciates Against USD, EUR

GEL was trading at 2.6325 against U.S. dollar a day earlier.

GEL also appreciated to 2.7333 against EUR compared to 2.7739 a day earlier.

GEL was relatively stable for a month before October, hovering around 2.29-2.32 per U.S. dollar, about 30% weaker compared to November, 2014, when GEL started depreciating. But since mid-October GEL started further weakening, falling to its all-time low of 2.7846 against U.S. dollar on December 22.

GEL appreciated slightly after the National Bank of Georgia sold USD 40 million at a foreign currency auction on December 20 to support the national currency. But it continued to fall throughout most of January and started recovering only after the beginning of February.

Since the start of 2016, NBG sold a total of USD 280 million and bought USD 278.35 million in 24 currency market interventions.