The sharp rise of the Armenian dram exchange rate against the dollar has nothing to do with the elections. During the election campaign, the political forces’ expenses didn’t have an impact on the fluctuations of the Armenian dram exchange rate since the amounts are relatively small (maximum a few million dollars). This is what PhD in Economy Karen Adonts said during a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Adonts clarified that the rise of the Armenian dram exchange rate is linked to the copper inflation (almost by twice), as well as the increase of money transfers from abroad. He added that the intensification of the tourism sector also plays a certain role since it is also a source of foreign currency. The copper inflation, money transfers and incoming tourism entail increase of the foreign currency.

According to the analyst, the impact of tourism is relative (the so-called outgoing tourism is also active, meaning the situation is balanced from the perspective of foreign currency supplements).

“The Armenian dram exchange rate will continue to grow, if copper prices stay high. In case of the previous prices, Armenia exported concentrate worth $800,000,000, but now the amount has doubled. As far as export is concerned, another major direction for Armenia is export of ready-made food to Russia.

As for the expectations, the Armenian dram might go up more.  If today’s trends serve as a basis, there is  high chance that the exchange rate of the Armenian dram against the dollar will drop below AMD 500, that is, of course, if there is no force-majeure situation.