The Central Bank said it has released millions of US dollars into the market to preserve the value of the Afghan currency against foreign currencies.
A spokesman for Da Afghanistan Bank (Central Bank) said that dollars have been released into the market three times since the Islamic Emirate came to power.
“The price of the (dollar) cash is decided based on the conditions. Today, we sell dollars to the markets. The next round of selling dollars will depend on the situation,” said Sabir Momand, a spokesman for the Central Bank.
However, analysts believe that selling dollars to the Afghan markets will help the Afghan currency to maintain its value for a temporary period of time and that the government should make permanent solutions for the stability of the Afghan currency.
“We should be able to recruit foreign investment–when foreign currencies enter Afghanistan it will help our currency’s value,” said Siar Qureshi, an economist.
After the fall of the former government, the Afghanistan banking system was hit with drastic sanctions by the US that also triggered a new wave of economic meltdown in the country.
“Management of cash is one of the biggest challenges that the banking system is facing now. The rates for the cash should be based on the presence of commodities in the market,” said Shakir Yaqobi, an economist.
The Afghan currency has significantly lost its value against the US dollar over the past six months. However, the flow of cash by aid organizations, especially UN agencies, has helped maintain the Afs’s stability. —Tolonews
