Dollar rate to stay in equilibrium till end of this month

The conditions are currently persisting on the foreign currency market,under which the dollar exchange rate remains at a relative standstill afterhaving struck equilibrium within the RUR31.55-31.60 range. However, thecurrent balanced situation is deceitful, since much of the market hinges oncommercial banks' ruble liquidity, apart from behind-the-scene actions ofthe Central Bank, according to experts. An increase in ruble credit ratesup to 10 percent that was posted yesterday and today prompted a small dropin the dollar exchange rate at the unified dollar trade session. But sincethere are four days before the end of this month, the pendulum may swing,because the aggravated ruble deficit will lead to the next dive in demandand, which is far more possible, an increased dollar supply. In other words, things are not as simple as they currently seem to be: themarket is being influenced by the end-of-the-month factor, and operatorsfear that during the time remaining until the end of August a stillstronger deficit of ruble resources may emerge on the interbank currencymarket. If operators' fears do not prove to be unjustified, dollar ratequotes may revisit the RUR31.55 level before September. If we look at theperspectives of the foreign currency market, under the current conditionsthe dollar exchange rate will have to start growing in early September upto RUR31.68-31.70 rather than stay stabilized below RUR31.60. .