YEREVAN. – The Armenian national currency, the dram, on Wednesday sharply appreciated against the US dollar, reported Haykakan Zhamanak daily. 

“At the [currency] exchange offices, the purchase price of one dollar reached 468 drams, which is the lowest indicator this year. 

“All factors that affect the dram’s exchange rate should have contributed to the devaluation of the dram. In particular, exports have dropped, remittances have dropped, the Russian ruble has started depreciating again, etc. 

“But the most noteworthy is that, despite the appreciation of the dram, the CB [i.e. the Central Bank of Armenia] did not buy cheap dollars from the market, thus it did not prevent the sharp appreciation of the dram. Had the dram depreciated by that much, the CB would not have hesitated and filled several tens of millions of dollars to the market. 
“This shows that the CB is playing in favor of the appreciation, and not the stability, of the dram,” wrote Haykakan Zhamanak.