The shock from the free floating of the tenge in its neighbors has reached Kyrgyzstan and, of course, has affected the country's economy, but there is no reason to panic, said Raushan Seyitkasymova, head of the monetary operations department of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, at a briefing.

In recent days, the exchange rate of the American currency has begun to rise sharply in Kyrgyzstan. Now, one dollar is sold at exchange offices for 70.8 soms.

According to Seyitkasymova, the wave of panic due to the fact that the currency of the neighboring country went into free floating began on August 20. Strong trade and economic ties influenced the current situation. But since the som turned out to be quite stable, there were no reasons for interventions.

“Yesterday, due to the sharp rise, we had to conduct an intervention in the amount of 17.6 million dollars. The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic has enough reserves to enter the foreign exchange market,” the expert noted.

Seyitkasymova reported that at the moment, the National Bank’s foreign exchange reserves amount to 330 million dollars, of which 85 million are cash reserves.

“Our reserves are at a fairly high level. This volume covers four months of imports. In international practice, the situation is considered stable if national banks have currency reserves that cover three months of imports,” the bank representative emphasized.

She noted that, in addition to intervention, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic continues to offer notes — its securities. In addition, commercial banks can invest their surpluses in National Bank deposits at a two-percent rate.

Source: http://ru.sputnik.kg/economy/20150915/1018314623.html#ixzz3lpoXjSs4