Azerbaijan’s central bank reported an increase in its FX reserves from USD 8.995 bln at the end of 2022 to USD 9.364 bln as of August 31, marking a 4.1% increase YTD. USD demand during the bank’s FX auction was USD 41.4 mln, down from USD 51 mln in the previous auction. The exchange rate remained at 1.7 manat per USD. The central bank sold USD 272.7 mln at FX auctions last month, compared to USD 78.9 mln in June and USD 277.2 mln in May.