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Rouble has reached equilibrium, says finance minister

Anton Siluanov said no major changes in the rouble exchange rate should be expected shortly

© Nikolay Galkin/TASS

MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. The rouble remains practically uneffaced any longer by oil prices, whose slump triggered a sharp depreciation of the Russian currency at the end of 2014, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told "Vesti on Saturday" TV programme.

"Although the oil price has declined a bit in the past few days, the rate is practically not reacting," he said. "What does it mean? That the rate has found its new position in condition of new oil prices, a new balance of payment," the minister said, noting that the rouble was not declining even against the background of the February peak on foreign loan payments.

The finance minister said no major changes in the rouble exchange rate should be expected shortly. "Even if oil prices deviate to a certain extent from the current figures, the rouble will not react much," he said.

The minister agreed with Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina that the rouble was undervalued by ten percent at the moment.

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