The National Bank of Georgia (NGB) sold USD 591 million of its reserves in October, a record for a month, according to the latest official data. Of this amount, USD 213.4 million was sold at the foreign exchange (FX) auction, while USD 377.7 million was the intervention amount on the Bmatch platform.
In October, the National Bank had to release reserves on auction four times to prevent a devaluation of the national currency amid the tense political climate surrounding the country’s elections. The NBG was saying that its interventions were intended “to mitigate the influence of non-fundamental factors and the usual market agitation that often arises during the pre-election period.”
“The two-month illegal election campaign has depleted the country’s foreign exchange reserves,” Roman Gotsiridze, former president of the NBG, wrote on social media. Gotsiridze had earlier expressed concern about developments in the foreign exchange market, warning that frequent and large sales of FX reserves could push them dangerously close to critical levels.
In total, NBG sold USD 917 million and purchased USD 329 million in the first ten months of the year. This resulted in net sales of USD 588 million. Below is the detailed month-by-month data:
- January – purchase of USD 8.1 million on Bmatch;
- February – purchase of USD 77.5 million on Bmatch;
- March – purchase of USD 127.9 million on Bmatch;
- April – purchase of USD 73.1 million on Bmatch;
- May – sale of USD 108.7 million at auction and sale of USD 9.1 million on Bmatch;
- June – sale of USD 60 million at auction and sale of USD 42 million on Bmatch;
- July – purchase of USD 1.9 million on Bmatch;
- August – purchase of USD 41 million on Bmatch;
- September – sale of USD 106.5 million on Bmatch;
- October – sale of USD 213.4 million at auction and sale of USD 377.7 million on Bmatch.
Also Read:
- 08/11/2024 – Foreign Exchange Reserves Fall Sharply as NBG Sells Record Amount of Dollars in October
- 18/10/2023- NBG Sells Additional Foreign Reserves
- 13/06/2024- NBG Sells More US Dollars in One Month than in 2023
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