A contradictory situation has developed on Kazakhstan's currency market this Sunday, April 26, 2026. While the latest KASE exchange data indicate attempts to strengthen the tenge, the cash market in megacities shows doubt. Private exchange offices, especially in Astana, ignore official trends and have 'dug in' with inflated selling prices, reports inbusiness.kz correspondent citing Kurs.kz.
The main anomaly of the weekend was the rate in the capital. Here, the spread between buying and selling of the dollar reached a critical value not seen in other regions. With the official National Bank rate at 464.86 tenge, capital city cash desks are ready to sell the US currency at around 467 tenge, while buying from the public at just below 460 tenge.
Rate map of megacities: Astana: dollar: buy 459.90 tenge, sell 466.81 tenge; euro: buy 538.00 tenge, sell 547.98 tenge; ruble: buy 5.85 tenge, sell 6.15 tenge. Almaty: dollar: buy 462.94 tenge, sell 465.13 tenge; euro: buy 542.65 tenge, sell 548.09 tenge; ruble: buy 6.01 tenge, sell 6.12 tenge. Shymkent: dollar: buy 464.74 tenge, sell 465.76 tenge; euro: buy 542.67 tenge, sell 546.76 tenge; ruble: buy 6.06 tenge, sell 6.13 tenge.
Such a contradiction — while in Shymkent the spread is about 1 tenge, in Astana it reaches 7 tenge — indicates that capital city players are preparing for 'surprises' on Monday. Widening the price corridor is a classic tactic of exchange offices in conditions of uncertainty: they hedge against a possible rate jump at the opening of trading, shifting risks onto buyers.
