YEREVAN, APRIL 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The appreciation of the US dollar recently in Armenia is conditioned by the upcoming parliamentary elections. Independent economist Eduard Aghajanov expressed this opinion at the April 13 press conference. "Those candidates for deputacy who intend to become deputies by giving electoral bribes, have purchased dollars for 350 drams and now are selling dollars at a high price so that the electoral campaign will be cheap or even free of charge for them," he said. In response to the question about how much the dollar's exchange rate will grow, E. Aghajanov replied: "It depends on appetite of candidates." According to his forecasts, the highest exchange rate of the US dollar will be in late April and early May, after which it will decline. E. Aghajanov considered it strange that the increase of the dollar's exchange rate does not cause panic at the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA), which at the time explained the Armenian dram's appreciation by an increase in remittances and the number of tourists. "Now that the dram is depreciating, it is clear that the opposite process must take place. That is, tourists should disappear and our compatriots go bankrupt. This is nonsense," E. Aghajanov said. Besides, according to him, the CBA explained the dollar's depreciation by its depreciation in the world. However, in the last two months the dollar has depreciated by 6-7% against other currencies, whereas the opposite process is taking place in Armenia. E. Aghajanov reminded that previously the CBA chairman claimed that the dollar's rate is a floating one in Armenia and the CBA has no relation to its exchange rate, while later in an interview to a newspaper he confessed that the dram's rate is a regulated and floating one and it is regulated by the CBA.

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