According to the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), the national currency grew by 0.51 tetri against the euro (EUR), as a result of which the official value of one euro became 3.0738 GEL.
The 0.98-tetri appreciation is against the British pound sterling (GBP), the price of which has become 3.6240 GEL. The recent appreciation of lari against the major basket of currencies and first of all, vs US dollar, has been estimated by Otar Nadaraia, Chief Economist of TBC Bank. In his words, an inflow of foreign currency into the country contributes to the strengthening of GEL against foreign currencies.
"On the one hand, we are all happy with the strengthening of GEL against USD, first and foremost in terms of inflation, because it is a very big problem. The question is how sustainable such a strengthening will be if it does not lead to a weakening of USD. This is not the year when we think USD will weaken, so if GEL continues to strengthen, I would be more inclined to the interventions than to the next strengthening of GEL," Nadaraia told BMG.
