The Central Bank supported the dollar at 27.9950 RUR/USD in Thursday’s trading on the MICEX, Artem Roshchin of Alba Alliance told RBC TV. He said the dollar had opened lower but later rose to 27.995 RUR/USD to 28.05 RUR/USD. According to Roshchin, the price of the dollar will depend on the Central Bank’s position. As soon as the Central Bank stops supporting the dollar, it will fall again. It is difficult to predict the situation, but the dollar might drop by RUR 0.1 on Thursday, the analyst said. In his opinion, the exchange rate could be between 27.5 RUR/USD to 27.75 RUR/USD by the end of the year.

According to experts, the dollar could drop to 27 RUR/USD in Moscow by January 1, 2005. Perhaps, exchange offices will be short of rubles. Since January 1, 2004, the dollar’s exchange rate against the ruble has dropped by 4.4 percent on the MICEX. But the cash foreign exchange market has its own rules, and the dollar trades lower there. Indeed, many small banks setting the tone on the market are ready to sell dollars below the Central Bank’s exchange rate. Meanwhile, Russians are not in a hurry to buy dollars. On the contrary, dollar sales have doubled over the past week. Analysts say this is due to seasonal factors – people want to have enough rubles for New Year and Christmas celebrations.

The dollar began falling in late September after the US posted a record 2004 budget deficit of $413bn and a Q2 current account deficit of $166bn.