A vendor counts Russian rouble banknotes at a market in Moscow, March 3, 2014. (XINHUA/REUTERS)
MOSCOW, Nov 3 (Xinhua) -- Russia will buy 122.8 billion rubles (2.1 billion U.S. dollars) worth of foreign currency in the domestic market between Nov. 8 and Dec. 6 this year to keep the ruble steady, the Russian Finance Ministry said Friday.
This is a 60 percent increase from the foreign currency purchases volume of 76 billion rubles (1.3 billion U.S. dollars) between Oct.6 and Nov. 7, according to the ministry.
Daily purchases will rise to 5.8 billion rubles (98.9 million U.S. dollars) from previous 3.5 billion rubles (59.7 million U.S. dollars), the ministry said in a statement.
The Finance ministry started foreign currency purchases in the domestic market using additional revenues from oil and gas exports in February to minimize the dependence of the ruble exchange rate on the volatility of oil prices.
Extra revenues from oil and gas exports from those laid down in the state budget were estimated at 125.8 billion rubles (2.14 billion U.S. dollars) in November, as compared to minus 3 billion rubles (51.1 U.S. dollars) in October caused by a lower-than-expected volume of exports, the ministry said.
The Finance Ministry purchases foreign currency via central bank at trading sessions of the Moscow Stock Exchange.