MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/. The Russian financial markets and the economy became more resistant to of in oil prices in 2018 in general, due to the budget rule among other reasons, First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Ksenia Yudaeva said on Tuesday.
"We see that this year the markets and the economy turned out to be more resistant to oil prices fluctuations, this is due to the budget rule. This allows the economy to react less to shocks," she said.
Yudaeva explained that the budget is "an essential part of the economy" and if it does not react to shocks, it stabilizes the economy.
Yudaeva added that before January 2019, the Russian Central Bank does not plan to resume foreign currency purchases on the domestic market for the Ministry of Finance. In December, the regulator will determine the mechanism of returning to the market.
"We will not return to the market before January. We will assess how we will return to the market in December," Yudaeva said.
The regulator’s Chief Elvira Nabiullina said earlier that the decision on resuming foreign currency purchases for the Finance Ministry will take into account the market volatility.
"Speaking about the break in foreign currency purchases within the fiscal rule, that break will be in force until the end of the year. We will decide whether we will resume those purchases by the end of the year. That only depends on the market situation, volatility, not at all on the exchange rate, but on the volatility factor," she explained.
At the end of August, the regulator suspended foreign currency purchases for the Finance Ministry as part of the fiscal rule until the end of 2018 due to the market volatility and a sharp devaluation of the ruble over the US sanctions. Instead of transactions on the domestic market, the Treasury purchased foreign currency directly from the Central Bank. The Bank of Russia pledged not to purchase foreign currency for the Finance Ministry on the exchange this year even in case of the strengthening ruble.