Dealers Expect Dollar To Rise Following Increase In Balances At Ruble Accounts

The balances at correspondent accounts of commercial banks have substantially increased as of the beginning of November 28, the third business day of the week. In Russia in general they rose by over 10 billion rubles (about $334.1 million), and the corresponding figure for the Moscow region is 7.5 billion rubles (about $250.6 million). As a result, there are 88 billion rubles (about $2.9 billion) at banks' correspondent accounts in the country in general, and the corresponding figure for Moscow is 54 billion rubles (about $1.8 billion). Nonetheless, the weight-average dollar rate did not increase at today's morning trading session for the third time in a row since Monday, November 26, remaining at the level of 29.93 rubles per dollar. As on the previous day, the high of 29.96 rubles per dollar again surpassed the level of the currency intervention of the Central Bank on the inter-bank market, but this did not lead to a rise in the dollar rate at the Unified Trading Session (ETS). As for the inter-bank market, the situation there is not so clear. Dealers of several banks remarked in an interview with RBC that following the reports of a sharp rise in the ruble balances at correspondent accounts, the interest rates for one-day credits decreased compared to the morning hours, which increases the probability of a substantial decline in the ruble rate on the inter-bank currency market this afternoon.