Russia's finance ministry is expected to lower purchases of foreign currency for its reserves in March as oil prices slid from multi-month peaks seen in early 2017, a Reuters poll showed. The finance ministry is seen buying the equivalent of 265 billion roubles ($4.67 billion) between March 7 and April 5, according to a consensus forecast of 11 analysts.
In the preceding period, between February 7 and March 6, the ministry's plan envisaged record-high purchases of foreign currency in amount of 298.1 billion roubles. The finance ministry, which started buying foreign currency early last year to beef up its reserves, is set to publish its FX intervention plan on March 5. The finance ministry will purchase less foreign currency in March as an average price for Russia's Urals crude blend slid to $63.3 per barrel over the last month from $68.5 in the preceding period, said Stanislav Murashov, an analyst with Raiffeisen Bank. Urals, Russia's blend of crude oil, traded near $62 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was at $63.4, down from three-year highs over $71 per barrel reached at the end of January.