Media Review for March 12, 2020

The possibility of devaluation in Azerbaijan due to falling oil prices and the fight against artificially high prices are the topics of today's media.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes that expectations of devaluation in the country are unfounded. The author is trying to prove it. Firstly, Azerbaijan is one of the countries with oil and not drawn into the conflict zone, which is explained by the exclusively pragmatic policy of the head of state.

At the same time, extraneous forces also affect the price of oil. That is, oil price issues are subject to bargaining and pressure.

As for Azerbaijan, thanks to the measures taken in time, the country's foreign exchange reserves amount to $ 52 billion, and the presence of other economic opportunities insures the country against surprises.

The Azadliqinfo website is discussing with the expert Neymat Aliyev the probability of devaluation due to rising oil prices. The expert believes that current oil prices make it difficult to implement a number of social and economic projects. In such an extreme situation, the probability of devaluation remains high. The new devaluation will not be mild, and it is likely that it will be in the range of 30-40%.

The website Yeni Sabah.az writes about artificially inflating prices.

Experts believe that the government should resort to administrative measures, although in a market economy, prices should be regulated by the market. However, this requires a competitive environment and eliminated monopolies. In this situation, artificially inflating prices is impossible.

The website Bizimyol.info discusses the reasons for the increase in oil prices. The decision of Saudi Arabia to increase oil production caused a sharp drop in oil prices. Along with pessimistic forecasts, optimistic ones also sound, according to which the Azerbaijani government has a “safety cushion”. Officials say there is no cause for concern.