National Bank of Kazakhstan plans to sell $2.2 bln forex in Q1
ASTANA. Jan 12 (Interfax) - The National Bank of Kazakhstan plans to sell foreign currency from gold exports equivalent to about 1.1 trillion tenge or $2.2 billion within the framework of mirroring operations in the first quarter of 2026, the regulator's press service said.
"In the first quarter of 2026, as part of mirroring operations, to neutralize the projected emission from the implementation of the priority right, and taking into account the liquidity remaining unabsorbed from 2025 against the backdrop of a significant increase in the price of gold, it is planned to sell foreign currency equivalent to about 1.1 trillion tenge," it said.
Within the framework of mirroring operations, $0.9 billion of foreign currency was sold in December. In total, in 2025, sales from gold and foreign exchange reserves as part of mirroring operations amounted to $7 billion.
The regulator said that when conducting operations with National Fund funds, as well as when implementing the mirroring mechanism, the National Bank adheres to the principle of market neutrality, which implies regular and uniform sales of foreign currency.
In 2011, Kazakhstan introduced a regulatory requirement for domestic gold producers to sell refined gold to the National Bank, which then sells it on international markets. However, gold purchases from the gold producers are financed through tenge issuance, increasing money supply and contributing to inflation.
To curb inflation and bring it closer to the 5% target, the National Bank had decided to sell dollars on the domestic forex market in the amount equivalent to the tenge issued for gold purchases.
No foreign exchange interventions were conducted by the National Bank in December. The National Bank did not purchase U.S. dollars for the investment portfolio of pension assets in December. Currency purchases in January are not planned.
Overall, for 2025, the tenge exchange rate strengthened by 3.7% - from 525.10 to 505.73 tenge per dollar. Trading volume amounted to $63 billion, an increase of 15% compared to 2024.
To allocate transfers to the republican budget, as well as to finance the infrastructure project for the construction of the Taldykorgan-Usharal main gas pipeline, $400 million was sold from the National Fund in December 2025, which accounted for 5% of the total trading volume, or about $18 million per day. In total, $8.2 billion was sold from the National Fund in 2025.
According to the government's forecast applications for converting transfers to the republican budget in January 2026, the National Bank expects the sale of currency from the National Fund in the amount of $350 million to $450 million.
In total, $8.2 billion was sold from the National Fund in 2025.
