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Sberbank president: Central Bank should not yet leave currency market

MOSCOW, January 24, /ITAR-TASS/. The Central Bank should not yet leave the currency market; it is necessary to shore up the rouble, Sberbank President German Gref said in an interview with Vesti 24 TV channel.

When asked if it is right to keep the currency rate fixed, Gref said that “the national currency is a natural float, the regulator of the macroeconomic situation. As to keeping the rate fixed… we witness such a policy in a number of countries. We saw this situation in Belarus, and the situation finally exploded and the currency was devalued many times. We observe this situation in Ukraine now, and it makes investors very much concerned. They don’t see why spend so huge resources to support the grivna. With the type of the economy and regulation Russia has it is impossible to regulate the national currency on a long-term basis. This will only lead to losses in the gold-and-currency reserves and then to steeper devaluation,” Gref said.

The targeting of inflation is the only right aim, he went on. “The question is what is the right time to float the rate, that is, for the Central Bank to stop interfering in the market. But, I believe, this time has not come yet,” Gref said.

Eastern Economic Forum

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Romanian rescuers find Ukrainian deserters who spent four days in mountains

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Ukraine 'not in a position to win' against Russia — Spanish reserve colonel

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London grants agrement to Zaluzhny as ambassador to UK — Ukrainian parliamentarian

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Kremlin vows legal action against US bill on seizing Russian assets

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Belarusian air defense registers increased number of NATO aviation sorties

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Russian missile cruiser Varyag enters Mediterranean Sea

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Nicaragua, Russia sign declaration to counter illegal sanctions — vice president

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