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RUSSIA'S ECONOMY

Ex-finance minister: Currency purchases lead to soft weakening of ruble

The majority of experts understands that the ruble rate is going to decline

© Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. Purchases of foreign currency by the Russian Finance Ministry will lead to soft weakening of the ruble rate with its subsequent stabilization, chief executive of the Center for Strategic Research Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday.

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Russian finance ministry to buy and sell foreign currency starting February

"I agree there will be a soft decline [of the ruble rate - TASS], followed by stabilization," Kudrin said responding to the question regarding the impact of currency interventions.

The majority of experts understands that the ruble rate will decline to somewhat 63-64 rubles per dollar in case the Finance Ministry purchases foreign currency on the domestic market, the expert said.

"However, this is just one factor. Certainly, other factors will also be effective at the same time, therefore the trend is for soft weakening. The rate will most likely remain stable after that," Kudrin added.

Russian Finance Ministry announced earlier it will start buying and selling the foreign exchange on the domestic market since February 2017.

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