On 10 March, the commercial banks in Azerbaijan set a limit on the sale of euros and dollars at 500-1,000 dollars for an individual, reported Turan. 

The restrictions came after the OPEC+ countries failed to agree on an additional reduction in oil production amid sliding demand due to the coronavirus in Vienna. OPEC proposed to deepen production cuts by another 1.5 mln barrels per day until the end of this year. However, Russia and Kazakhstan opposed the proposal. Global market shares plunged as panicked investors fled to the safety of bonds and the yen to hedge the economic trauma of the coronavirus, while oil plunged more than 30% after Saudi Arabia opened the taps in a price war with Russia. The cost of futures for Brent crude oil with settlement in May 2020 on the ICE Exchange in London fell by 33.4% to $33.94 per barrel, the last time the oil price was below $34 per barrel in February 2015.

At the Central Bank’s foreign exchange auction the manat against the dollar did not change, remaining at the level of 1.7000AZN. The State Oil Fund took part in the auction. According to the Central Bank, demand at the auction amounted to 323.2 million and it was completely satisfied.

The Azerbaijani government promised to prevent artificial price increases and take tough measures against an unreasonable deficit. According to an official statement, authorities promise not to cut back on social programs despite a sharp drop in oil prices. It is noted that the country has enough foreign exchange reserves to maintain stability in the foreign exchange market and maintain inflation. “The Azerbaijani government has a plan of preventive measures to neutralize the negative impacts of possible economic trends on the country's economy. Predicted scenarios of the effects of a sharp decline in oil prices on the balance of payments have been prepared. Depending on the scenario, a package of measures to stabilize the situation will be implemented,” the press service of the government said. 

The last time when the oil prices fell in 2015, Azerbaijan’s central bank devalued the manat from 0.744 manat per US Dollar to 1.55 manat per US Dollar.