WNAM REPORT: The foundation for the creation of the Azerbaijani manat was laid after Azerbaijan regained independence in the late last century by order of the then President Abulfaz Elchibey dated June 15, 1992.
The first banknotes were printed by the Central Bank of France. From August 1992 until January 1994, both manats and rubles were valid across the country. On the order of President Heydar Aliyev dated December 11, 1993, Azerbaijan withdrew from the ruble zone, with the National Bank launching an independent monetary and exchange rate policy.
Nonetheless, in the challenging economic conditions of that time, it was impossible to maintain the stable rate of the national currency. The manat was rapidly declining against other foreign currencies. Whereas at the beginning of 1994, $1 was at AZN 118, in just a year it rose to AZN 4,182.
On February 7, 2005, President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on the denomination of the national currency. On January 1, 2006, new manats were put in circulation in Azerbaijan. The denomination was held at 1:5000 scale, with both old and new banknotes valid through a year. From January 1, 2007, only a new manat was in place in Azerbaijan. Banknotes with the nominal value of AZN 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and metal coins of 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50 qepicks were put into circulation.
The design of the new manat was developed by Euro’s author Robert Kalina, a designer at Austria’s OeBS. The new generation banknotes have been printed with the technical support of the National Bank of Switzerland. For long years, the Azerbaijani manat remained the strongest and most stable currency in the South Caucasus. But after 20 years, on February 21, 2015, it dropped sharply. On the same day, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan announced the 34% devaluation in national currency amid the global oil price collapse. In the end, the official dollar rate was increased from AZN 0.78 to AZN 1.05. It was impossible to keep the rate stable for a long time due to the continuous decline in oil prices and the decline of the dollar mass flowing to the country.
On December 21, 2015, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan decided to shift to the floating exchange rate. The official rate grew to AZN 1.55 per dollar. In the new situation, the rate of the dollar and other foreign currency against manat depends on the demand for national currency. For example, the highest rate after the shift to floating rate was recorded on February 1-2, when the dollar traded at AZN 1.92. On May 25-26, 2015, the dollar was at its minimum – AZN 1.49.
Today the official rate is equal to AZN 1.700 per dollar, and it has remained stable since March 7.
