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Euro to ruble exchange rate reaches record hights

Price of travel packages may follow suit

Euro's value continues to grow compared to the ruble. On Thursday, the exchange rate exceeded 44 rubles per euro for the first time since 2009. However, experts continue to affirm that a higher exchange rate is only temporary. The media noted such fluctuations will not affect prices of international travel packages. However, price of cheapest tours will increase regardless.

By the end of the year the euro rate may go up by 50 kopecks at most, Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily cited Professor of the stock market and investment market department of the Higher School of Economics Alexander Abramov. The official exchange rate of the eurozone currency, which the Central bank set on Friday, was 43.97 roubles per euro. The media have already raised some suspicions that financial authorities are dilberitely devaluating Russian currency in order to support domestic producers. “This is not the case; the current decline in the ruble exchange rate is caused by market mechanisms,” Alexander Abramov said. “Foreign investors do not believe in the Russian currency and are withdrawing their assets from it. Now the outflow of short term capital from Russia has slowed down, but there is no tendency for its return just yet,” the expert stated.

Tour operators, who are waiting for further decline in the demand, are cancelling booking for hotels and air flights on a large scale, a travel agency confirmed to the Novye Izvestia daily. Owners of Turkish hotels made a profit, since they did not convert prices from U.S. dollars to euro in this season, which increased tourist inflow; the same situation happened in Tunisia. Prices on travel packages season declined overall, but the prices on the cheapest tours slightly increased, as stated by representatives of the travel industry. The latter mostly refers to bus tours to Europe, which are popular among travelers of low income brackets, such as students.

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Moscow hopes that Brussels will pay attention to its vital interests in the end, Russia's top diplomat said

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Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu underlined that this is being done by strengthening "military-political structures such as QUAD, AUKUS and the US-Japan-Philippines triad"

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Yury Chikhanchin pointed out that the perpetrators of the attack were provided with money, weapons, transportation and ammunition

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The deal still looks advantageous even after two years of war, Welt am Sonntag said

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"All options are on the table, we will be guided by common sense and Russia’s interests," Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov said

Russian draft UNSC statement on Nord Streams sabotaged by West — Russian diplomat

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The report hasn’t been officially confirmed

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Kiev may use ATACMS missiles to hit Crimean Bridge — Russian defense ministry official

Russian military will do its utmost to repel such attacks, Apty Alaudinov said

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The date and location will be announced later

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Russia grateful to DPRK for unconditional support of special operation in Ukraine — MFA

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International cooperation needed to investigate Nord Stream incidents — Russian diplomat

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Scholz asks allies to find additional air defense capabilities for Ukraine

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Russian Economy Ministry expects trade balance surplus to decline

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Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, April 24th

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"If the UN did not exist, it should have been created," Vasily Nebenzya said

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