The Central Bank will not buy foreign currency in the domestic market until the end of 2024

“The Bank of Russia decided from November 28, 2024 to the end of 2024 not to purchase foreign currency on the domestic currency market as part of reflecting the regular operations of the Ministry of Finance of Russia related to the implementation of the budget rule. “The decision was made to reduce the volatility of financial markets,” the statement said.

At the same time, the Central Bank will continue to carry out foreign exchange sales operations in the domestic market related to the replenishment and use of money from the National Welfare Fund, even taking into account all operations that were carried out with the funds of the fund in 2023, in the amount of 8.4 billion rubles per day.

The decision to resume foreign currency purchases in the domestic market “will be taken taking into account the current situation of the financial markets,” the Central Bank clarified. Deferred purchases will be completed during 2025.

On November 27, the dollar exchange rate on the Forex currency market approached 115 rubles for the first time since March 2022. The euro on Forex exceeded 120 rubles. Previously, the Central Bank set the official exchange rate of the dollar for November 28 at 108.01 rubles and the euro at 113.09 rubles.

The ruble is weakening as demand persists and supply remains low due to sanctions against the Russian banking sector, says BCS World of Investments analyst Ilya Fedorov. He noted that the new restrictions have further reduced the possibilities of cross-border circulation of the ruble. If its supply is not increased, it will continue to weaken in the near future, the expert is sure.