Russia insists no devaluation in ruble
Friday, 21 November 2008
MOSCOW, Nov 20 (AFP): Russia yesterday insisted there would be no devaluation in the ruble even though the central bank has spent billions of dollars propping up the currency.
"There is no reason to devalue (the rouble) even if oil prices are low. There will not be a devaluation," said President Dmitry Medvedev's economic adviser Arkady Dvorkovitch.
"The central bank is in complete control of the situation on the foreign exchange market," Russian news agencies quoted Dvorkovitch as saying.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin made the same point in a speech to parliament.
"Russia will guarantee the stability of its currency, taking into account the fundamental indicators of our economy," he said.
The pressure on the ruble gathered pace with the outbreak of the war between Russia and Georgia in August and intensified as the global economy moved into crisis over the credit crunch.
The panic meant investors moved into more traditional safe-haven currencies, like the dollar and the yen, meaning that currencies such as the ruble in developing countries suffered.
The president of Russia's central bank, Sergei Ignatiev, said that the bank had to spend 57.5 billion dollars in the course of September and October in propping up the ruble.
"There is no reason to devalue (the rouble) even if oil prices are low. There will not be a devaluation," said President Dmitry Medvedev's economic adviser Arkady Dvorkovitch.
"The central bank is in complete control of the situation on the foreign exchange market," Russian news agencies quoted Dvorkovitch as saying.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin made the same point in a speech to parliament.
"Russia will guarantee the stability of its currency, taking into account the fundamental indicators of our economy," he said.
The pressure on the ruble gathered pace with the outbreak of the war between Russia and Georgia in August and intensified as the global economy moved into crisis over the credit crunch.
The panic meant investors moved into more traditional safe-haven currencies, like the dollar and the yen, meaning that currencies such as the ruble in developing countries suffered.
The president of Russia's central bank, Sergei Ignatiev, said that the bank had to spend 57.5 billion dollars in the course of September and October in propping up the ruble.