Ruble goes down, what does the Russian Ministry of Finance say?

In a statement on July 31, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the latest weakening of the ruble was mainly due to changes in the country's trade balance.

The ruble fell to a three-week low against the dollar. (Source: Reuters)

On the last day of July, the ruble fell 1.16% to 92.77 rubles per dollar - its weakest level against the greenback in three weeks.

Last week, the ruble traded in a narrow range of nearly 90 rubles to the dollar.

“The weakening of the ruble is mainly due to the trade balance, the flow of money into and out of the country,” Minister Siluanov said.

The official added that some analysts believe that the decline in the value of the Russian currency is due to the sale of foreign businesses in Russia and the outflow of foreign currency.

“However, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Russia previously agreed that the amount of money withdrawn from the sale of these enterprises should not exceed $1 billion per month. Therefore, the sale of foreign enterprises does not have a significant impact on the currency market,” he noted.

In early July 2023, the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, stated that the main reason for the decline in the ruble exchange rate in June and July was the decrease in exports and increased imports.

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