8.5% rate would lead to a “well-three-digit” dollar exchange rate – Kommersant

Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation Alexey Zabotkin said that maintaining the key rate at 8.5% could lead to a weakening of the ruble to a “well-three-digit” figure. In this regard, it was decided to increase the rate to 13% per annum.

“In terms of how much the rate affects the exchange rate. It is very difficult to talk in terms of “if only”, but I think my colleagues with an economic education will confirm that if the rate had remained 8.5%, then we would now be looking at a different level of the exchange rate, which would most likely be , well three-digit,” said Mr. Zabotkin during a meeting of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market (quote from “Interfax”).

According to him, in the current situation, “various jumps in the exchange rate” are still possible, but the regulator is doing everything to prevent this from happening.

On September 15, 2023, the Bank of Russia increased the key rate by 100 basis points – from 12% to 13%. One of the reasons for the unscheduled rate increase was the sharp weakening of the ruble. The rate change occurred for the third time in a row: on July 21, the regulator raised the rate from 7.5% to 8.5%, then again at an extraordinary meeting on August 15 – to 12%.

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Alexander Kislov