A $10-per-barrel increase in the price of Azeri Light crude increases Azerbaijan"s annual current account surplus by $1.2 billion, Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) Chairman Taleh Kazimov said in an interview with Global Finance magazine.
Report quotes him as saying a $50 increase in the price of natural gas per 1,000 cubic meters boosts the surplus by approximately $900 million.
Kazimov noted that around 80% of Azerbaijan"s non-oil imports come from countries that import energy resources.
He added that a 10% increase in oil prices raises inflation in our trading partners by approximately 0.67%. The nominal effective exchange rate absorbs most of this pressure, he said.
According to the CBA chairman, exchange rate stability serves as the main nominal anchor.
He said where trade is the dominant transmission channel, a stable nominal exchange rate neutralizes most imported inflation, keeping expectations within the 4±2% range. At the same time, the interest rate corridor ensures the predictable transmission of policy decisions. The third factor is reserve buffers: Azerbaijan's strategic foreign exchange reserves increased by $700 million in the first half of the year, reaching $85.8 billion by the end of June. This exceeds 125% of GDP and amounts to around 400% of broad money, Kazimov noted.