The Azeri central bank raised its key interest rate for the third time this year to the highest since 2008 as it struggles to restore trust in the national currency after two devaluations in 2015, Bloomberg reported. The benchmark was increased to 9.5% from 7%, effective on Aug. 8, according to an e-mailed statement. The upper and lower ends of the central bank’s rate corridor were left unchanged. The move aims to “strengthen trust” in the manat and encourage savings in the currency, while also making the central bank’s sterilization operations more attractive to lenders, policy makers said.
