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Manat reaches parity with euro in Azerbaijan

04 March 2009 11:35 (UTC +04:00)

The euro dropped to a record low against the manat, the lowest since December 23, 2002. The manat hit record high vs euro at 1.006 manats while national currencies in peer countries plunged against the backdrop of the financial crisis.

The euro hit its lowest against the manat at 0.7856 manats on June 5, 2001.

The 16-nation euro inched down 10.9% against the manat during January-February 2009 and 9.3% in 2008.
In parallel to the euro deprecation, the amount of cash and cashless transactions is growing apace in the country.
The manat-euro parity had been expected because of the recent euro-dollar move on world markets.
The euro kept falling against the dollar after a report showed Europeâ€™s services industries contracted at a record pace in February, pushing the economy deeper into its worst recession in more than a decade.
The euro was also weighed down by concern eastern European countries may default on their debt, reducing investor demand for the 16-nation currency.
The dollar vacillated against the major currencies Tuesday amid interest-rate and policy actions from the Federal Reserve and central banks overseas.
The euro fell against the dollar on Wednesday as investors continued to price in the likelihood of an interest rate cut from both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England this Thursday.