USD, RUB transactions down in Armenia`s interbank foreign exchange market June 2 to 6, 2025

ArmInfo. June 2 to 6, 2025, in Armenia's interbank foreign exchange market, USD and RUB transactions  showed a decline, with no EUR transactions effected for two months.  RUB transactions showed an 88.4% decline against an 8.6% growth the previous week. USD transactions showed an 8% decline against a 37% growth. The total amount of USD transactions exceeded that of RUB transactions 1.4-fold, whereas the total volume of RUB transactions exceeded that of USD ones 6-fold. 

During the period under review against the previous week (May 26 to 30, 2025), in the intrabank foreign exchange market, USD and EUR purchases showed a growth, with USD and EUR sales showing a slower growth. RUB purchases and sales showed a decline.

June 2 to 6, 2025, saw AMD an insignificant appreciation against the USD - AMD 384.5/$1 to AMD 383.5/$1, AMD depreciation against the EUR - AMD 435.5/EUR 1 to AMD 437.5/EUR 1, and AMD appreciation against the RUB - AMD 4.83/RUB 1 to AMD 4.80 RUB 1. 

On June 6, 2024, the AMD/USD exchange rate was AMD 387.8/$1, AMD/EUR exchange rate, AMD 422/EUR 1, AMD/RUB exchange rate, AMD 4.34/RUB 1, which is evidence of y/y AMD appreciation against the USD and AMD  depreciation against the EUR and RUB. 

According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, both ruble and dollar transactions were conducted on the interbank currency market four times from June 2 to June 6 this year. During the reporting week, trading was conducted daily, with both dollar and ruble transactions conducted simultaneously on Monday-Tuesday and Friday, and only ruble and only dollar transactions on Wednesday (June 4) and Thursday (June 5), respectively. As a result, the total weekly volume of dollar transactions amounted to $12 million with an average rate of 383.49 dr/$1 (versus 384.29 dr/$1 a week earlier),  and ruble transactions - 700 million rubles with an average rate of 4.83 dr/1RUB (the same as a week earlier - 4.83 dr/1RUB). The maximum volume of dollar transactions "appeared" on Monday (June 2) - $5.2 million, and the largest volume of ruble transactions occurred on Tuesday (June 3) - 300 million rubles.

According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, in the first quarter of 2025, the Central Bank intervened in the foreign exchange market in February and March alone for a total of $94 million, strengthening the exchange rate from 394.19 drams/$1 in February to 393.14 drams/$1 in March, and these were only purchase operations.

In the intra-bank foreign exchange market, in the first quarter of  2025, $1.5 billion, 444.5 million euros and 171.8 billion rubles were purchased, and $2.2 billion, 892.2 million euros and 51.1 billion rubles were sold.  This formed the purchase rate on the intra-bank foreign exchange market in March at the level of 390.77 dr/$1, 419.57 dr/1 euro and 4.53 dr/1 ruble, and the sale rate at the level of 394.14 dr/$1, 426.95 dr/1 euro and 4.65 dr/1 ruble, against the December 2024 394.84 dr/$1, 413.75 dr/1 euro, 3.84 dr/1 ruble - for buying, and 398.16 dr/$1, 420.09 dr/1 euro, 3.97 dr/1 ruble - for selling.

In the interbank currency market in Q1 2025, dollar transactions totaling $191 million and ruble transactions totaling 6.8 billion rubles were made, while euro transactions were made only in February- March for a total of 1.7 million euros. This was accompanied by a  weakening of the dram against the ruble and euro on the interbank currency market to March's 4.54 drams/1 ruble and 426.25 drams/1 EUR,  and a slight strengthening against the dollar to 393.65 drams/$1, from December 2024's 3.84 drams/1 ruble, 414.25 drams/1 EUR, and 396.1 drams/$1, respectively. On the interbank currency market for this period, the largest volume of dollar transactions was made in January ($81 million), ruble transactions in March (2.95 billion rubles), and euro transactions in February (1 million euros).

The currency exchange platform, after eight years of "silence", began to operate in June 2024 and in five months (June-October) dollar transactions were carried out for a total of $14.7 million, accompanied by the strengthening of the dram from June 388.90 to October 387.75 drams/$1. In November-December, the currency exchange platform was empty. Then in 2025, in the first quarter, dollar transactions for $1.850 million were carried out on the currency exchange platform, accompanied by the strengthening of the dram from  January 398.75 to March 393.14 drams/$1.

Ruble transactions on the interbank currency market of Armenia started on March 14, 2022 and from that moment until the end of the year, transactions worth 8.7 billion rubles were carried out, and another 17.5 billion rubles for the whole of 2023. This was accompanied by a weakening of the dram against the ruble on the interbank currency market in March-December 2022 from 4.86 to 5.8 drams/1 ruble, but then there was a strengthening of the dram against the ruble to 4.47 drams/1 ruble by the end of 2023 and further to 3.84 drams/1 ruble by the end of 2024.