Has the lari stopped falling?

The Georgian authorities and the National Bank of the country are ready to implement the actions required to stabilize the lari in the case of its decline, but further devaluation of the national currency is not waiting for the regulator, the president of the Georgian National Bank, Giorgi Kadagidze, said in an interview with Rustavi-2 TV.

"In the case of additional pressure, the National Bank, on the one hand, will tighten monetary policy, on the other hand, the Government is ready, if necessary, to cut government spending, and we agree that we need to complete the review of the Monetary Fund, as this is an important positive message to investors," RIA Novosti cited him as saying.

Kadagidze noted that, despite the positive outlook on the further stabilization of the lari, food prices will not drop quickly, because the Georgian market is mainly represented by imported products.

The head of the National Bank said that the drop of imports by $1 billion represents a decrease of consumption in the country, and it cannot be considered as a positive signal. On the other hand, it still had a positive impact on the lari, which, he said, will continue to stabilize.

The head of the Center for Security Studies and International Relations of Georgia, Nika Chitadze, said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza that the strengthening of the lari depends on a number of factors. "If the volume of investments in different sectors of the Georgian economy will grow, and if you increase the volume of exports, of course increased, it will help to attract foreign currency into the Georgian economy and stabilize the exchange rate of the lari," he said.

According to the expert, another factor contributing to the strengthening of the national currency is the amount of money that Georgians, who are the residents of different states, including Russia, transfer to their relatives in Georgia.

Speaking of the government spending which can be cut in the first place, the political scientist said that the reduction could affect premiums in the central government and various municipal structures.