Armenian Dram (AMD)

From 2006 to 2009, there was a paradoxical situation in Armenia: imports exceeded exports almost four-fold, thus causing a significant deficit in the trade balance, but the local dram to dollar only added up, strengthening over the whole period by an unprecedented 50% against the USD.

The Crisis of Armenian Drama

The "Dutch Disease" that struck the Transcaucasian republic was quite different from its usual forms. The fact is that in this case, the strengthening of the national currency was not due to the export of raw materials, of which Armenia is scarce. The authorities of the country explain the rise of AMD by an increase in private transfers from abroad, while opposition analysts point to an artificial overvaluation caused by limiting the money supply. This, in turn, leads to an increase in the purchasing power of the currency. Strong Armenian Drama is not profitable for national producers, reducing the competitiveness of their products.

Prior to the revaluation, the Armenian currency had been depreciating for a long time. It was caused by a huge Inflation in the country, as well as the lack of sufficient foreign exchange reserves of the National Bank.

It must be said that Armenia was the last of the CIS countries to introduce its own currency, hoping to remain in the ruble zone to the very end. Because of this, in the initial stages of functioning Armenian Drama The authorities were unprepared to effectively manage its exchange rate. It was only since the beginning of the 2000s that the dram began to gain momentum and even went into the above-mentioned counter-offensive, which ended in 2009 with a temporary stabilization of the exchange rate.

Armenian Drama Denominations

In circulation there are paper bills of 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 20,000, and 50,000 drams. One dram is equal to 100 lumamHowever, these coins are not in use at the moment. The international designation of the Armenian dram is AMD.

Armenian Drama