ALMATY, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The National Bank of Kazakhstan has begun foreign exchange interventions to stabilize the tenge after the national currency hit historic lows, the regulator said in a press release on Wednesday.
"Given the extremely low liquidity in the foreign exchange market and signs of heightened speculative pressure, the National Bank of Kazakhstan has commenced currency interventions," the central bank said in a statement. However, the volume of the intervention was not disclosed.
The tenge weakened to 550 per U.S. dollar during trading on Wednesday, marking a 5.8-percent monthly and 4.7-percent annual depreciation.
Despite the decline, the bank noted favorable economic fundamentals, with global oil prices holding above 70 U.S. dollars per barrel and a broader trend of U.S. dollar weakening.
"The current depreciation of the tenge does not reflect fundamental factors and indicates that the national currency is undervalued," the regulator said.
The National Bank has pledged to act promptly to prevent sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate. ■