Central Bank still abstaining from dollar trade

This afternoon, as in the morning, the Russian Central Bank has made no interventions on the Russian currency market. Commercial bank traders believe the Central Bank's non-participation in deals with tomorrow settlements is due to the fact that in the afternoon the dollar rate was a bit higher than the official rate. According to experts, such an occurrence goes right in line with the interests of the Central Bank planning to slightly weaken the ruble after today's strengthening by RUR0.07.

Analysts point to a large gap of RUR0.05 between the low and the high on dollars at a special session with tomorrow settlements, another evidence for the Central Bank's abstentionist policies. Traders note that if the Central Bank had participated in the trade, the difference between the low and the high on dollars would have been within RUR0.01.

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