Central Bank sends the ruble plummeting?

The Central Bank of Russia has widened the corridor of fluctuations of the Russian ruble against the currency basket. Anton Soroko, an analyst with Finam investment holding commented the news especially for Pravda.Ru.

"The boundaries of the dual currency corridor can be changed in the event the volume of foreign exchange interventions of the Central Bank exceeds a certain limit. Thus, the fact that the dual currency range has been changed five times in the last two months, means that major customers show very low interest in the Russian ruble, which, in general, can be explained with the lack of interest on the part of foreign investment structures in Russian assets. The Central Bank supports the rate of the national currency to prevent a sharp decline of the ruble.

"I think that this trend is fair in the context of seasonality, and with the arrival of autumn the pressure on the Russian currency is likely to weaken. By the way, by the end of the month, the Ministry of Finance is planning to enter the open market with the purchase of foreign currency to replenish the Reserve Fund, which may also affect the rate of the ruble. In general, we expect that in the next few months, the pressure on the domestic currency will decrease, and we'll see strengthening of the Russian ruble. By the end of the year, on an optimistic scenario, the ruble rate against the dollar will amount to 32,5-33,5 rubles per dollar, while the euro will cost 43-44 rubles per one euro.