CENTRAL BANK PUMPS $116 MLN INTO EXCHANGE MARKET

SANA'A, March 30 (Saba) - The Central Bank of Yemen (CBY) pumped on
Tuesday $ 116 million into the exchange market to cover the market
needs.

An official source in the CBY said that the bank has offered about
$150 million, however it received requests with $116 million from
the banks and the exchange companies.

This is the third interference in March and the seventh since the
beginning of 2010, bringing the total amount the bank has pumped
into exchange market to $847 million.

The source confirmed that the bank will raise next week the interest
rates for Yemeni Riyal deposits in an attempt to encounter the
incessant decline of the national currency against the foreign ones.

The Bank approved on Monday increasing the interest rates on Yemeni
Riyal deposits from 15 percent to 20 percent as the minimum.

The bank is following up the developments in the exchange market and
it will keep on feeding the market with its needs of foreign
currencies, the source said.

AF/AF