May 4 (Reuters) - Russia's finance ministry said on
Thursday it would sell 2 billion roubles' ($25 million) worth of
foreign currency a day between May 10 and June 6, a decrease in
the volume of daily operations from the previous month.
After a hiatus of several months, Russia resumed foreign
currency interventions in January, selling yuan rather than what
it terms "unfriendly" Western currencies, underscoring the
growing importance of China's currency in Moscow's efforts to
ensure economic stability amid Western sanctions.
The finance ministry said its regular FX sales on the market
would total 40.4 billion roubles ($513 million) over the coming
month. A Reuters survey of analysts had predicted sales would
total 27.5 billion roubles.
In the previous period, between April 7 and May 5, the
ministry had planned to sell 74.6 billion roubles' worth of
foreign currency to compensate for lower oil and gas revenues.
Russia halted forex interventions last year as Western
nations imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow, including the
freezing of about $300 billion in foreign exchange reserves,
after it sent its armed forces into Ukraine.
The government carries out forex interventions to cover
shortfalls - or build up reserves in the event of a surplus - in
earnings from Russia's vital oil and gas exports.
($1 = 78.7000 roubles)
(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing
by Kevin Liffey)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.