The National Bank of Cambodia announced that it has sucessuflly auctioned 10 million USD to stabilise local currency. (Source: The Phnom Penh Post)

Phnom Penh - The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) announced on September 6 that it has successfully auctioned 10 million USD in an effort to stabilise the Cambodian riel against the US dollar.

This is the first auction in NBC's plan to put up for auction 50 million USD to banks, financial institutions and currency exchange businesses to sustain the exchange rate stability.

In the coming time, it will continue to auction 15 million USD on September 8, 10 million USD on September 13 and 15 million USD on September 15.

NBC’s decision to auction 50 million USD is intended to absorb surplus riel in circulation, thereby stabilising the exchange rate in the Kingdom in the context that the local currency has been depreciating in relation to the dollar.

The central bank attributed the devaluation of the riel to seasonal factors such as harvests and tourism lows that reduce demand for riel, and appreciation of the US dollar in the international foreign exchange market.

Pursuing a managed floating exchange rate, NBC decided to intervene in the currency market to maintain the purchasing power of the Cambodian people.