Russia's finance ministry is expected to increase purchases of foreign currency in January in line with government targets, as oil prices hit three-year highs, according to a Reuters poll. The median forecast of nine analysts polled by Reuters was for the ministry to buy the equivalent of 242 billion roubles ($4.25 billion) between January 15 and February 6, up from the 203.9 billion roubles in December.
The purchasing period is shorter than usual because of Russia's New Year and orthodox Christmas holidays, which ran from December 30 to January 8, meaning the amount of daily purchases was unclear. Russia started buying foreign currency in early 2017 to beef up reserves, which were depleted after it spent billions of dollars propping up the rouble, hit by a plunge in oil prices.
But prices for crude oil, Russia's main export, have since recovered to their highest levels since 2014, and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in December that would trigger increased FX purchases this year. Siluanov said the finance ministry could spend around 2 trillion roubles on foreign currency this year if prices for Russia's crude blend Urals are at $54 to 55 per barrel.
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