The Armenian authorities have succeeded in stabilizing the exchange rate of the national currency, the dram, and will do more to prevent its fresh fluctuations disrupting economic activity in the country, Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielian said on Thursday.
The governments of Armenia and Georgia formalized on Wednesday their plans to build a new bridge on the border between the two countries in an effort to facilitate bilateral trade and travel.
The Armenia dram rallied against the U.S. dollar for a second consecutive day on Friday amid more signs of stabilization in Russia’s volatile currency market severely affected by falling oil prices.
Armenia’s leadership has assured Western powers that it will continue deepening relations with them even after joining the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the outgoing U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, John Heffern, said on Friday.
Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian on Thursday ordered Armenia’s anti-monopoly regulators to crack down on businesses that he said have disproportionately raised the prices of key goods to cash in on sharp exchange rate fluctuations.
The Armenian dram strengthened against the U.S. dollar by 16 percent on Thursday after weeks of depreciation that accelerated dramatically earlier this week amid turmoil in Russia’s currency market.
A senior Armenian government official indicated on Wednesday that the continuing significant weakening of the dram will likely push up the electricity prices in Armenia.
Armenia’s Russian-owned national gas distribution company said on Monday that it does not yet plan to seek a further increase in its tariffs despite recent weeks’ significant depreciation of the Armenian dram.
The chief of the Armenian police, Vladimir Gasparian, insisted on Wednesday that Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) and its opposition allies will not seek to topple the government with street protests.
The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) pledged to prevent a further sizable depreciation of the Armenian dram on Tuesday after stepping up its interventions in the local currency market.
Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian appealed to the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) on Friday to crack down on “speculative” currency trading in the local market on Friday as the Armenian dram depreciated further against the U.S. dollar.
The Armenian authorities should do more to minimize the fallout from Russia’s deepening economic troubles as well as sluggish growth in the European Union, President Serzh Sarkisian said on Friday.
The Armenian government stood by its economic growth projections for next year on Thursday after a significant worsening of Russia’s economic outlook acknowledged by the authorities in Moscow.
The Armenian authorities will stabilize the exchange rate of the national currency, the dram, and prevent a surge in consumer prices, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian said on Wednesday, echoing statements by the Central Bank.
The United States wants to continue deepening relations with Armenia even after its upcoming accession to a Russian-led bloc, U.S. Ambassador John Heffern said after meeting with Armenian lawmakers on Friday.
The head of Armenia’s largest business association stressed on Wednesday the importance of preventing “sharp” exchange rate fluctuations following a depreciation of the national currency, the dram.
Armenia’s national currency, the dram, has lost over 4.5 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar over the past week in what analysts see as a further sign of spillover effects of the worsening economic situation in Russia.
An Azerbaijani soldier was reportedly killed on Thursday in fresh ceasefire violations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone that followed last week’s downing of an Armenian combat helicopter.
Poverty in Armenia decreased only marginally last year despite continued economic growth, the Armenian government and the World Bank said in a joint report presented on Tuesday.
Armenia is not in danger of falling into a recession despite the mounting fallout from the worsening economic situation in Russia, Economy Minister Karen Chshmaritian insisted on Monday.
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