The dollar climbed RUR 0.11 against the ruble on Monday, from 28.63 RUR/USD to 28.74 RUR/USD. Last time the US currency was at this level was on January 22.

According to market traders, the dollar was rising confidently during the session. Dollar sales dominated the market in morning trading, but bulls took control later. The Central Bank did not prevent the dollar from strengthening. Traders say the Central Bank’s support level might have been at 28.625 RUR/USD, but the exchange rate did not drop to this mark on Monday.

“There is no need for the Central Bank to interfere. The exchange rate is moving in the direction the Central Bank wants,” the newspaper’s analyst says. Certainly, the dollar’s rise was the result of a market game. There were no objective reasons for the strengthening of the dollar on Monday, with the price for Russian oil staying high. In addition, tax payments began on April 19, whereby a lot of hard currency is usually sold.

Meanwhile, the dollar slightly weakened against the euro in international trading to 1.2 USD/EUR. But there is a more significant factor on the Russian market – the position of the Central Bank. “The Central Bank says the strengthening of the ruble’s real effective exchange rate would not exceed 7 percent,” another source told Kommersant Daily. In his opinion, the ruble will stop strengthening in nominal terms.

According to bank dealers, the Central Bank raised its support level at Monday’s Unified Trading Session. Perhaps, it supported the dollar at 28.63 RUR/USD on Monday, an analyst told the newspaper. He believes that this was one of the reasons for the weakening of the Russian currency against the dollar.