He pointed out that this year the Cabinet and the Russian Central Bank allowed the national currency to strengthen more than it was planned. According to him, policies of some countries that deliberately weakened their currencies contributed to this, too.

Commenting on rumors about a possible drop in the dollar rate to 15RUR/USD to 16 RUR/USD, he pointed out that this situation would not be tolerated. If necessary, the government will help the Central Bank to support stability of the Russian ruble. Eventually, possible exchange rate fluctuations will not impair exporters’ standing, Mr. Kasyanov stressed.

Also, the head of the Russian Cabinet stated that in 2003 the savings of Russians that were not involved in circulation were 10 percent of the GDP. “These resources are not in the banking sector and are not invested in the economy for meeting the demand for investments,” the premier stressed.

At the same time, according to Mr. Kasyanov’s data, the number of Russians living below the subsistence level had declined from 33 million in 2002 to 29 million in 2003. The prime minister pointed out that as for fighting poverty in Russia, a lot of problems remained. This will be the key goal for the government for many years, he said.

According to the Cabinet head, for solving this problem it is necessary to provide general economic growth and reform the social security system. In this event the government will have an opportunity to increase pensions and social security benefits, improve medical services, and create new jobs, the prime minister emphasized.