First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said at the Council of Lawmakers meeting that the Russian government won't change its policy about ruble trading.
Shuvalov also approved the Central Bank’s method of gradual ruble devaluation by expanding its trading band.
But RBC reported that Central Bank Chairman Sergei Ignatyev came out against currency controls, noting that such measures could even have an adverse effect. He expressed hope that his colleagues both in the Central Bank and government shared his position.
According to Ignatyev, Russia’s forex market has stabilized, and the Central Bank’s interference is no longer needed.
“The ruble’s exchange rate stabilized back in early February, and we have been carrying almost no interventions for more than a month already. The market is currently balanced, and the ruble has even been strengthening over the past few days,” RBC quoted Ignatyev as saying.
On January 23, 2009, the Central Bank set the upper end of the ruble’s trading band against the euro-dollar basket at RUB 41. The official ruble/euro exchange rate set by the Central Bank for March 14-16 is 44.9258 RUB/EUR, and the ruble/dollar rate is 34.8316 RUB/USD. Thus, the bi-currency basket is currently worth RUB 39.374.
Source: RBC
Author: Ksenia Kochneva
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Experts Believe Ruble Will Remain Stable
According to the experts, Russia's forex market has stabilized, and the upper end of the ruble's trading band against the euro-dollar basket will not be changed