DUSHANBE, February 3, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- A sharp rise in the USD exchange rate has been reported in the currency exchange offices in Dushanbe.

On February 2, the exchange rate of US dollar against somoni in the currency exchange offices of Dushanbe rose from 1:3.75 in the morning to 1:3.90 in the evening.

Agroinvestbonk, one of Tajikistan’s largest commercial banks, has 100 currency exchange office across the country.  According to Agroinvestbonk’s head office in Dushanbe, they set the purchase rate for USD at 3.75 somoni per 1.00 US dollar and the sale rate at 3.77 somoni per one 1.00 US dollar Monday morning, however, the USD exchange rate in Agroinvestbonk’s exchange offices changed at 11:00 a.m. – the purchase rate was set at 3.80 somoni per 1.00 dollar and the sale rate was set at 3.82 somoni per 1.00 dollar.

“Today, Agroinvestbonk’s exchange offices increased the purchase and sale rates for USD to 1:3.86 and 1:3.88 respectively,” the source said.

In the meantime, the USD exchange rate set by Bonki Rushdi Tojikiston (Tajikistan Development Bank or TDB) on Monday was 1:3.78.  On Tuesday, the USD exchanged rate in TDB’s currency exchange offices rose to 1:3.88.  TDB has two exchange offices.

The source at head office of Tojik Sodirot Bonk (TSB) in Dushanbe said that all the 33 currency exchange offices of the bank across the country currently purchase dollars at the rate of 3.78 somoni per 1.00 dollar and sale them at 3.80 somoni.

Meanwhile, an official USD exchange rate set by the National bank of Tajikistan for February 3 is 1:3.68; on February 2, it was 1:3.67.