$1 equals GEL 2,7470 in the official rate set by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG). Georgian economists attribute the recent sharp devaluation of the Georgian national currency Lari (GEL) against the US Dollar to the commercial companies’ demand for dollars or the investment decline.  Besides, they cannot rule out the possible impact of the Turkish Lira on the Georgian currency.

According to the Georgian expert Lia Eliava, the depreciation is caused by the commercial banks’ high demand for foreign currencies. She claims the processes occurring at the international level do not affect the evaluation process in Georgia. The devaluation, Lia Eliava says, can be prevented through currency intervention which is not carried out by the National Bank of Georgia.

The other economist Akaki Tsomaia believes that the Georgian Lari is affected by the processes taking place in Georgia’s trading partners as well as the decline in foreign direct investment in Georgia. He cannot exclude the possible impact of the Turkish Lira on Georgian Lari. According to him, the solution to the problem is a speedy economic growth.

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