24 May 2004 04:48
Speculators fail to bid dollar up
MOSCOW. May 24 (Interfax) - The shortage of rubles at banks thwarted attempts to bid the dollar above the 29-ruble
mark.
Dmitry Lipin of International Industrial Bank said trading on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) opened
vigorously at 29.01- 29.015 rubles/$1 as traders hoped for growth. But because overnight credit rates were still high at
more than 20%, the dollar did not strengthen any further and corrected down to close the day at 28.985 rubles/$1.
Today deals averaged up 3.86 kopecks to 28.996 rubles/$1 at the
Unified Trading Session (UTS) while Tom deals grew 1.24 kopecks to
The Central Bank tried to support the market, buying dollars at 28.9825 rubles/$1, but this support was not
aggressive and the market proved not to be ready for growth.
"I think interest on ruble credits will remain high in the next two or three days and the market will not stray
far from the 29-ruble mark. Some more or less serious movement might be seen in the first few days of June," Lipin
said.
The ruble altered little against the euro, dipping slightly to 34.6 rubles on the MICEX, reflecting trends on the
Forex market, where the euro traded in a narrow band of just $1.195-$1.197.
28.9885 rubles.
Once the UTS had ended, Today deals on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) traded up 2.25 kopecks to
28.9823 rubles and Tom deals saw the dollar gain 0.87 kopecks to 28.9899 rubles/$1.
Trading volume on the MICEX was similar to Friday's at $749.359 million, of which $168.99 million in Today deals
and $179.272 million in Tom deals (UTS); and $216.104 million Today and $184.993 million Tom (afternoon trading).
The euro fell 18.84 kopecks to trade at 34.6178 rubles at the UTS and 34.644 rubles in afternoon trading. The lowest
rate seen in the day was 34.6 rubles/euro.
The UTS saw 167 Today deals totaling 4.976 million euros and afternoon trading 15 deals for 721,000 euros. [RU ASIA
EUROPE EEU EMRG EUR FRX CEN INSI] pr
[Interfax] |
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