Amidst falling oil prices in Azerbaijan, there is growing concern over the possible rise in price of the dollar and the devaluation of the manat.
Some banks have suspended the sale of dollars, and many have set a limit on currency exchange, reports Banker.az.
Economist Natig Jafarli says that he was unable to buy dollars in any of the capital banks that he visited.
“It is a tense situation. The central bank and the authorities have neither reliability nor market influence. Although they try to calm the public with words, their behavior sows panic. The only way to prevent a commotion is to allow citizens to exchange manats for dollars and transfer their manat deposits into this currency. As long as banks limit the sale of dollars or completely stop selling, the panic will increase,” writes Jafarli on his Facebook page.
Governor of Azerbaijan Central Bank Elman Rustamov assures the public that the country is “stable on a financial and macroeconomic level,” and that the fall in oil prices will not affect this in any way.
In 2015, the manat lost more than 30% of its value against the dollar in a short period of time.
