Kazakhstan exchange bureaus net buy Russian rubles for fourth year
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Kazakhstan's currency exchange bureaus recorded net purchases of Russian rubles from the public worth 66.6 billion tenge in January–May 2026, marking the fourth consecutive year of negative net sales. The trend reversed a decade-long pattern of net selling that ended in 2023.
Net Sales Reversal
From 2018 to 2022, Kazakh exchange bureaus consistently sold more Russian rubles to the public than they bought, with net sales ranging from 187.2 billion tenge in 2020 to 312.2 billion tenge in 2018. In 2023, the indicator turned negative for the first time at minus 9 billion tenge, followed by minus 5.4 billion tenge in 2024. The deficit widened sharply to minus 66.6 billion tenge in the first five months of 2026, according to Ranking.kz.
Monthly and Regional Breakdown
Monthly net sales were negative throughout 2025, with the largest gap in July at minus 53.2 billion tenge. In 2026, January saw minus 5.3 billion tenge, while February and March briefly turned positive at 1.1 billion and 7.4 billion tenge respectively. April and May drove the overall result with minus 39.8 billion and minus 30 billion tenge. Regionally, 7 of 20 regions posted positive net sales, led by Karaganda (4.2 billion tenge), East Kazakhstan (1.7 billion), and Akmola (1.1 billion). The largest negative balances were in Almaty (minus 27.2 billion tenge), Astana (minus 13.9 billion), and Aktobe (minus 10.7 billion).
What's Next
The trend may persist if ruble depreciation continues, as the Russian currency weakened more than 8% against the tenge after two months of gains. It remains unclear whether the shift reflects long-term de-dollarization or temporary capital flows.
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Kazakhstan exchange bureaus net buy Russian rubles for fourth year
