Restrictions on afghani helps stabilize currency

KABUL (Agencies): Billions of US dollars, flowing into Afghanistan, in the form of cash aid, is helping to stabilize the local currency so much that the AFN has been propelled to the top of the global rankings this quarter.

According to America’s Bloomberg news agency, the afghani (AFN) has maintained its value against foreign currencies, especially the US dollar, on the back of the cash aid and other factors.

Additional actions are also helping to stabilize the currency including the Islamic Emirate’s ban on the use of Pakistani rupees and US dollars on the local market, and an increase in cross border trade, Bloomberg reported. Currently, the AFN is trading at just under 80 afghanis to the dollar.

The international community has shipped in on over $40 million dollars a week since the fall of the former government. This money is handled by the UN and used for aid in the country.

Bloomberg reported however that the cash aid and increased trade with Afghanistan’s neighbors has propelled Afghanistan’s currency to the top of global rankings this quarter — an unusual spot for a poverty-stricken country. The IEA’s tight restrictions on taking dollars out of the country, banning online trading and imposing prison sentences on those who break the rules, have also contributed to this stability.