Azernews.Az

By Ofeliya Afandiyeva

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) sold $1.9bn worth of foreign currency at currency auctions in March 2020, local media reported citing the fund.

Earlier it was disclosed that SOFAZ sold $543.4 million worth of foreign currency at currency auctions in February 2020.

Thus, the volume of foreign exchange sales in March increased by 3.5 times compared to February.

According to the calculations based on the fund's monthly data, the State Oil Fund sold $2.7bn worth of foreign currency at currency auctions in January-March of the current year.

This figure is 78.6 percent higher in comparison with the same period of the last year.

It should be noted that the overall value of the sold foreign currency by the State Oil Fund at currency auctions was estimated at $6.5bn in 2019. This figure is 2.1 percent more compared to 2018.

Currently, SOFAZ is the main supplier of currency sales at currency auctions, held by the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan (CBA).

Note that CBA began to hold foreign exchange auctions through the unilateral sale of foreign currency in competitive conditions since mid-January 2017. In March 2020, it was decided to hold extraordinary foreign exchange auctions in connection with the increased demand of the population for foreign currency since March 10 amid the failed deal OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), which entailed a sharp decline in oil prices.

SOFAZ was founded in1999 in a bid to boost the domestic potential of the country and efficient use of abundant oil reserves for citizens’ welfare.

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