The Tuesday MICEX currency session opened with dollar/ruble quotations subsiding, 27.99-28.03 rubles to the dollar. During the first hour, the value went down below 28 rubles to the dollar, never exceeding the level during the trade day. Market members say that dollar/ruble fluctuations stayed within the 27.99-28 ruble corridor to the dollar on Tuesday.
As of 11:30, Moscow time (when the Central Bank's tomorrow rate /fixing/ formed), the MICEX dollar rate for tomorrow increased by 12.88 kopecks to 27.9955 rubles to the dollar.
Bids for tomorrow closed with the same value.
Patrikeyev said that morning sales of the American currency by the market members are due to the euro strengthening on the Forex world currency market. And added that the reasons for the sales was the Central Bank's selling very much currency the day before -- about 4 billion dollars at 28.135 rubles to the dollar.
On Tuesday the Central Bank was not bidding though, in some estimates, bought currency for tomorrow at 27.995 rubles to the dollar.
The market is still likely to favor a weaker dollar and a stronger euro, the interviewee continued. Overall, the bulk of short positions has been closed, income fixed and before the end of this and start of the next month the dollar/ruble rate may be consolidated within 27.9-28.1 rubles to the dollar.
Another reason for a stronger euro and a weaker dollar is the session of the closed-market operations committee of the United States Federal Reserve System, Patrikeyev added. Experts expect that the federal funds' rate will be increased from 2 to 2.25 percent, meaning a still weaker American currency. These expectations underlie the current Forex euro rate.
Still, the euro rate is as before the main reference point for the Russian currency market and this is why "everybody waited for what is in store for the euro", the bank spokesman added.
