Economics
Currency Rescue Proves Political Cure-All Before Azeri Vote
- Manat is best-performing currency globally in past three weeks
- Azerbaijan auctions $1.15 billion to ease pressure on currency
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A currency rescue is what passes for a political campaign in Azerbaijan.
As the weeks ticked away before a referendum in late September on changing the constitution -- with nary a televised debate or public polling -- the Azeri authorities sprung into action after the manat depreciated for three months and panic stirred on the streets of the capital. The nation’s sovereign wealth fund, together with the central bank, held out $1.15 billion at auctions in the past weeks to ease pressure on the manat and contain growth in consumer prices, the most offered to lenders since the height of Azerbaijan’s currency crisis in January when oil prices collapsed.