05 May 2004 06:03
Dollar slumps to 28.86 rubles
MOSCOW. April 30 (Interfax) - The dollar slumped to 28.86 rubles/$1 in the first trading day in May, while the euro
jumped over 35 rubles after the Federal Reserve decided to leave interest rates at 1%, while indicating it was ready to
raise rates in the future.
Increased dollar selling by banks servicing exporters also helped push dollar quotes down.
"The signal for dollar decline and euro growth was not so much the
Fed's decision to leave interest rates unchanged, but more the
Trading opened with the dollar dropping to 28.93 rubles/$1, although the last deal on April 30 was made at over 29
rubles/$1, said Sergei Romanchuk of Metallinvestbank. "Throughout the day, the dollar kept falling and hit 28.84
rubles/$1, after which there was a small correction to 28.86-28.87 rubles/$1 - banks playing short positions bought
dollars," he said.
commentary that accompanied this event. Analysts saw signs that interest rates may be increased more quickly than
previously forecast later on," he added.
The dollar's weighted average exchange rate was unchanged at
28.9077 rubles/$1 in UTS Today deals, but tumbled 9.85 kopecks to
"Apart from the Fed's decision, a large amount of export earnings, accumulated recently and not only over
the May holidays, flooded the market. The impact of this pushed the dollar down," said Alexander Zhukov of
Olimpiyskiy bank.
The euro climbed to over $1.21 on the international Forex market and this was reflected on the Russian market, he
said.
The dollar is likely to stabilize at 28.8-28.9 rubles/$1 for now, dealers said.
28.8748 rubles/$1 in Tom deals.
On the interbank currency market, the dollar went down 3.34 kopecks to 28.8897 rubles/$1 in ordinary Today deals, and
10.98 kopecks to 28.8722 rubles/$1 in Tom deals.
A total of $593.409 million changed hands Wednesday, with $140.354 million traded in UTS Today deals, $126.021
million in UTS Tom deals, $190.499 million in ordinary Today deals and $136.535 million in Tom deals.
In euro/ruble trading, the euro climbed 52.65 kopecks to 35.0626 rubles/EUR1 in the UTS and rose to an average of
35.0390 rubles/EUR1 in the afternoon session. The gap between the euro and the dollar in the UTS rose to 6.1549
rubles.
Banks traded EUR 3.737 million in 173 deals in the UTS and EUR 158,000 in 6 deals in the afternoon session. [RU ASIA
EUROPE EMRG EEU FRX CEN BNK INSI] me
[Interfax] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
