Konversbank CEO: Russian Central Bank can not support US dollar for long

The dollar is falling against the Russian ruble, Head of Investment at Konversbank Nikolai Zolotariev has confirmed. In his opinion, this is largely due to Russia's new investment rating and the fact that the Central Bank has decided not to support the current rate of exchange. More than a billion dollars were sold last week as a result.

'The dollar is continuing to fall this week,' Mr Zolotariev said 'although the activity of speculators may bring a temporary change in the rate of exchange. In the short-term the fate of the dollar in Russia will depend on the Russian Central Bank. In the longer term, the exchange rate of the dollar will depend on Russia's balance of payments and, essentially, on the state of the oil market. If high oil prices remain and the high inflow of foreign currency continues it will be difficult for the Central Bank to keep the dollar at its high rate of exchange.'

Mr Zolotariev also said that the increased outflow of money from Russia over the summer was connected to the situation with Yukos. The fact that this is a pre-election year has also brought some uncertainty to the market. However, he said the outflow of money from Russia is only a temporary phenomenon and it will not have a particularly adverse effect on the state of the national economy.