Bank Of Russia Not Going To Buy Foreign Currency Until Year's End - Deputy Governor

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published September 20, 2018 | 10:37 PM

The Bank of Russia not going to resume purchasing foreign currency on behalf of the Russian Finance Ministry even if the there is a decrease in volatility in the foreign exchange market, First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudaeva said on Thursday.

ST PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) The Bank of Russia not going to resume purchasing foreign Currency on behalf of the Russian Finance Ministry even if the there is a decrease in volatility in the foreign exchange market, First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudaeva said on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the Bank of Russia may resume buying foreign currency on behalf of the ministry this year if the ruble continues to grow.

"The Bank of Russia of course makes tough promises rarely, but aptly. If the press release says that we suspend [purchase of foreign currency] until the end of the year, then we suspend it until the end of the year. Even if the volatility in the foreign exchange market decreases," Yudaeva told reporters on the sidelines of the Second Eurasian Women's Forum.

In 2019, the central bank may resume purchasing foreign currency, but the final decision will depend on the situation on the markets, the official underlined.

As the Bank of Russia has raised the forecast for inflation to 5-5.5 percent in 2019 from an initial 4.3 percent, and the deputy governor noted that it is the best forecast that can be made based on the current situation.

"This time, we paid a lot of attention to the preparation of the forecast, looked at various factors. This is what our models and calculations give, taking into account those trends that we have observed recently and taking into account our expectations for incoming parameters. The forecast is always under revision, there are always some uncertainties in the forecast. But based on the situation that we are observing now, based on the assumptions that we are building on various parameters for the next year, this is the best forecast that we can make now," Yudaeva said.

On September 14, the Bank of Russia said that it would suspend purchases of foreign currency on behalf of the Russian Finance Ministry until the end of December.