Kazakhstan’s First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar has dismissed claims that the recent sharp depreciation of the tenge was caused by comments made by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov regarding the projected exchange rate of the national currency.
On July 15, during a press conference, Bektenov stated that under the cabinet’s baseline forecast for 2026, the exchange rate was projected at 540 tenge per U.S. dollar.
Following his remarks, the dollar began rising in value against the tenge, prompting the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan to suggest the statement may have influenced market expectations.
«The prime minister cited figures from the socio-economic development forecast. I don’t believe it’s serious to say his words triggered the exchange rate shift,» Sklyar said.
He emphasized that the 2026 forecast had already been approved by Parliament and made public, making the projection nothing new.
«My forecast, and that of my colleagues, is that the exchange rate will rebound. It won’t remain this high. We’ve seen the rate stabilize many times before,» Sklyar added. «I believe the National Bank will take all necessary measures, and the market will function as it should.»
On July 30, the National Bank of Kazakhstan conducted currency interventions totaling $125.6 million to support the tenge, after the dollar rose to KZT550 on the stock exchange. At the time of publication, dollar trades on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) were priced at KZT539.
In July, the tenge weakened by 4%, closing the month at 540.72 per dollar. The average daily trading volume on KASE increased from $235 million to $260 million, with total monthly trading volume reaching $5.7 billion.
