"GEL strengthening is seasonal", - this is how financier Giga Bedineishvili assesses the strengthening of the national currency. According to him, the main reason for strengthening is the increase in tourist flows.
"Now we see volatility. [Lari] depreciated sharply, then strengthened a little. We have a tourist season. Generally, if the tourist number is higher than expected, then the lari strengthens. I get the impression that the inflow of tourists has increased. We are also seeing new geographies. There are a lot of tourists from China, India and the Arab countries," says Giga Bedineishvili.
The financier expects that the GEL will remain volatile this year.
"I think the volatility will continue. During the stability, nothing has an impact on GEL besides the external factors. But, when there is anxiety, then the volatility increases. The average trend may be towards depreciation, but I do not expect GEL will collapse and exceed GEL 3-rate ", Giga Bedineishvili said.
As a result of June 20 trading, the Georgian national currency strengthened against the USD. The exchange rate change against USD amounted to 0.70 tetri, after which the official value of USD became GEL 2.8001.
According to the National Bank of Georgia, the national currency strengthened by 1.06 tetri against the Euro, as a result of which the official value of one Euro became GEL 3.0045.
