National Bank of Kazakhstan spends $125.6 million in one day to stabilize tenge

Tengrinews.kz – The National Bank of Kazakhstan carried out foreign exchange interventions worth $125.6 million on July 30 in an effort to stabilize the national currency amid speculative pressure and low market liquidity.

According to the regulator, the move helped curb speculative activity and ensure sufficient liquidity in the foreign exchange market.

Currency interventions occur when the central bank buys or sells foreign currency to smooth sharp fluctuations in the tenge's exchange rate. Officials describe it as a financial "extinguisher" used during periods of market volatility.

As part of July operations, the central bank also sterilized 290 billion tenge — effectively withdrawing excess liquidity from the economy. A similar amount is expected to be sold in August.

In addition, the National Bank purchased $35 million to maintain the share of foreign assets in the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF) at no less than 40 percent. However, such purchases are not planned for August, as the threshold has already been met.

Quasi-public companies also sold around $450 million of their export revenue in July as part of the mandatory conversion rule.

Sales from the National Fund totaled $700 million in July, directed toward transfers to the state budget and the construction of the Taldykorgan–Usharal gas pipeline. On average, $32 million were sold daily — accounting for 12 percent of overall market turnover.

Looking ahead, the National Bank expects to sell between $400 million and $500 million from the National Fund in August, depending on fiscal needs and upcoming tax flows.

By the end of July, the tenge had weakened by 4 percent, reaching 540.72 per U.S. dollar. The average daily trading volume rose from $235 million to $260 million, with the total volume for the month reaching $5.7 billion.

The regulator noted that the tenge's exchange rate in the coming weeks will depend on market sentiment, tax payments, global trends, and geopolitical developments. The policy of a floating exchange rate will remain in place.

On July 30, the dollar briefly surpassed 550 tenge in currency exchange offices, prompting the National Bank to announce its intervention.