Central Bank Revises Exchange Rate Policy

The Central Bank has revised the level of containment of the dollar rate increase, having moved it upward today, commercial banks' dealers pointed out in an interview with RBC. According to them, as long ago as on Tuesday, December 11, the Bank of Russia was selling dollars on the inter-bank currency market at 30.10 rubles per dollar, and after a break for the state holiday on December 12, it has begun to resist the rise in the exchange rate at the level of 30.20 rubles per dollar; moreover, not on the inter-bank market any more, but at the morning trading session. Accordingly, the Central Bank has changed not only the level of its currency interventions today, but also the place where they are conducted, at least in the morning, the experts underline. They remarked that on the previous business day, the country's main bank was absent at the Unified Trading Session but was actively selling dollars at the afternoon trading session. In the experts' view, the new reduction in the volume of gold and foreign currency reserves, which turned out to be almost as substantial as the decline that took place week ago, has made the management of the Central Bank of Russia change the tactics of its efforts to support the ruble.