On February 3, the finance ministry will release details of its foreign exchange selling strategy.
Reuters, 2 February – According to a Reuters survey released on Thursday, the Russian finance ministry expects to expand its sales of foreign currency for state reserves to approximately $1.1 billion in the upcoming month.
At 9:00 GMT on Friday, the finance ministry will reveal its purchasing schedule for the weeks of February 7 to March 6.
Six analysts were polled, and the consensus prediction was that, in accordance with its fiscal policy, Russia will regularly purchase 79.75 billion roubles ($1.14 billion) in foreign currency on the open market.
The range of each projection was 0 to 205 billion roubles.
The ministry had planned to sell 54.5 billion roubles worth of foreign currency between Jan. 13 and Feb. 6, which it did using Chinese yuan, to make up for weaker oil and gas income.
In order to improve domestic economic circumstances and lessen the impact of energy market volatility on Russia’s economy and state budget, the finance ministry said last month that it would resume operations.
Although Russia’s primary blend is currently selling for less than $50 per barrel, the 2023 budget for Russia is predicated on a Urals blend price of about $70.1 per barrel.
The West imposed broad sanctions against Russia last year after it launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, which included the freezing of about $300 billion in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, Russia stopped making FX interventions.
The yuan, or renminbi, has grown to be a significant player in Russia, where for many years following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the U.S. dollar reigned supreme.
The Russian Finance Ministry states that only Chinese Yuan can be used for transactions instead of dollars and euros.
