Fitch: Azerbaijan returns to adjustable exchange rate policy again

Baku. 11 January. REPORT.AZ/ Azerbaijan is quietly leading the way as some of the biggest oil producers in the former Soviet Union tighten control over their currencies only a few years after unshackling them from the dollar.

Report informs, the BMI Research, a member of the Fitch international rating agency said.

“This only delays necessary structural adjustments in the economy, and acts as a drain on foreign-exchange reserves and sovereign-wealth fund assets”.

“The backsliding shows how the old ways are reasserting themselves after prices rebounded for oil and natural gas. Still, the International Monetary Fund has already warned against compromising on Azerbaijan’s currency flexibility. The country needed to allow the manat to float freely by the end of last year, according to a strategic road map of economic reforms drawn up by McKinsey & Co. and approved by the president”, document said.