Tenge Surges Against Dollar Amid Increased Foreign Currency Supply
The Kazakh tenge strengthened against the US dollar in August, reaching 461.57 per dollar at the end of the month.
This increase of 2.6% was attributed to a higher foreign currency supply exceeding demand amid increased market activity and changing capital flows, according to Saltanat Igenbekova, head of the Analytics Center at Halyk Finance.
The total trading volume on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) reached $8.7 billion in August, up from $8.6 billion in July, with average daily trading volumes increasing to $415 million.
Igenbekova linked investors' interest in tenge-denominated assets to their attractive real returns, growth in Kazakhstan's combined foreign exchange reserves, and the country's sovereign credit rating upgrade by S&P this year.