Strong monetary policies can control currency market volatility

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: When the price of one dollar was trading up to 83 afghanis in Kabul markets, but with the continuous injection of dollars in the currency markets of Afghanistan by the central bank, the price of the dollar has fallen and now one dollar is trading at 73 afghanis with slight changes in the country's currency markets.

 

Hasibullah Noori, spokesman for the Central Bank of Afghanistan, told AVA that the Afghanistan Bank has recently auctioned millions of dollars to maintain the value of the Afghan currency, mainly to control currency fluctuations, stabilize the Afghan currency and meet market needs.

 

"We assure all compatriots that the Central Bank of Afghanistan is committed to preventing fluctuations and stabilizing the Afghan currency," Hasibullah said. Our policies to control exchange rate fluctuations are based on sound monetary policies.

 

"As has been experienced globally, short-term currency fluctuations are a natural part of the economy, which can be largely controlled by using strong monetary policies," Noori said.

 

"The Central Bank of Afghanistan is emphasizing its efforts in this regard and we will not allow severe fluctuations in this sector," he added.

 

Noori concluded by stressing that the Afghanistan Bank has sufficient financial resources and will meet the market's foreign exchange needs if needed.

 

However, Haji Mohammad Qasim, a money changer in Kabul, told AVA that the reason for the depreciation of the Afghan currency against foreign currencies is sometimes due to the holidays in the tenth and eleventh months of the year.

 

Haji Qasim also said that the purchase of dollars by foreign traders is another reason for the dollar's appreciation against the Afghan afghani, but these temporary fluctuations can be controlled by auctioning the dollar in the foreign exchange market.

 

He also said that sometimes the value of the dollar against the Afghan currency increases as the Hajj approaches, because pilgrims convert Afghan currency into dollars and deliver dollars to banks.

 

Despite the depreciation of the dollar against the Afghan afghani in the past two weeks, Kabul residents continue to complain about the high prices of raw materials, saying that despite the 10 percent depreciation of the dollar against the Afghan afghani in the past two weeks, there has not been much decline in the price of raw materials in Kabul markets.

 

Sayed Arif, a resident of Kabul, told AVA that although the price list is specified by the municipality, most shopkeepers do not follow it and sell at higher prices for more profit.

 

He called on the Islamic Emirate to seriously monitor Kabul markets while setting prices and take legal action against violators and prevent overpricing and arbitrary actions.

 

He said the municipality could prevent overpriced sales and ensure order in the markets by sealing the shops of several violators.

 

Afghans, whose purchasing power is low due to rising unemployment and increasing poverty, are always worried about the rise in prices of raw materials as the dollar rises against the Afghan afghani.