Azerbaijan plans to fully float its currency, the manat, starting next year, the head of the country's central bank told reporters on Monday. Azerbaijan adopted a managed float earlier this year as the price of oil slumped, to ease pressure on its foreign exchange reserves.

That policy established a range within which banks could buy and sell manats of 4 percent on either side of its official rate. At times this year, it has suspended sales of foreign exchange. The main reason for floating the currency now, said Elman Rustamov, the head of central bank, "is the achievement of macroeconomic stability."

Copyright Reuters, 2017