The strengthening of the ruble exchange rate has reached a peak, they said on Monday, May 23, in the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
“According to our estimates, now the strengthening of the ruble is at peak levels. Imports, capital flows will adapt to new conditions,” the ministry said.
The ministry added that the main role in the process of adaptation and strengthening of the ruble exchange rate will be played by the reduction of the key rate by the Central Bank of Russia.
In addition, on Monday, stock market expert Dmitry Babin said that the dollar and euro quotes are approaching their lows. Given the excess supply of foreign currency over demand, the strengthening of the ruble is unlikely to stop without the intervention of the authorities. Also on that day, Ph.D. in Economics, financial analyst Mikhail Belyaev noted that the European economy is currently experiencing more serious difficulties than the American one. This is reflected in the exchange rate.
On the afternoon of May 23, the euro exchange rate on the Moscow Exchange fell to 59 rubles for the first time since June 2015. As of 16:25, the euro reached 58.8 rubles, the US dollar was quoted at 57.4 rubles.
On May 19, Russian presidential aide Maxim Oreshkin said that the current ruble exchange rate is absolutely market-based. According to him, the Russian national currency is strengthening due to a strong balance of payments due to high prices for exported oil. In addition, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance stopped buying foreign currency on the market, closed the possibility of withdrawing capital to countries unfriendly to the Russian Federation and making payments to investors from such states, the presidential aide added.