On 14 August, the Georgian Minister of Economy Natia Turnava said that the Georgian economy is stable and that negative developments in regards to the Georgian lari are not expected, reported agenda.ge.

“These days we are witnessing that the GEL is getting stronger. Based on external trade statistics that were published yesterday, Georgian exports are growing, which will further strengthen the lari. We are optimistic in this regard,” she stated. She also added that she does not see any need for foreign exchange intervention by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).

According to the latest data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) the country’s external trade decreased by 0.2% and reached $7.07 billion between January-July 2019. The value of Georgian exports increased by 12.3% to $2.10 billion, while the value of imports decreased by 4.7% to $4.96 billion compared to 2018.

On 1 August the Georgian lari began devaluing rapidly prompting the National Bank of Georgia to tighten its monetary policy (Caucasus Watch reported).