Updated at 17:53,27-03-2024

Lukashenka: Another day or two and the dollar will fall

UDF.BY

Alyaksandr Lukashenka predicts a sharp drop of the dollar exchange rate against the Belarusian ruble after the abolition of extra session.

"Keep in mind, the dollar rate won't be the same. Now we are to combine both sessions into a single one, literally in a few days, and the dollar rate will fall. To be honest, we supported the high dollar exchange rate without interfering and somewhere acted carefully", said the president on October 18 meeting on the withdrawal and allocation of land plots of agricultural land.

"I see who makes requests for these dollars, for foreign currency. Mainly, they are the so-called sole proprietors and those doing incidental imports. Well, why should we sell them dollar cheaply? But the main thing is that now enterprises don't sell currency, they are waiting for a single rate. And as soon as this cash appears in the market, dollars and euros which we use to buy gas and so on, then the dollar supply will be very high", said Alyaksandr Lukashenka. "And when we have the single rate, an enterprise is obliged to sell 30% - the same price both for purchase and sale of foreign currency; then there will be a completely different rate. Therefore, one needs to remember this too, rather than adapt to the rate, which is now Br8 or Br9 thousand".

On Tuesday the dollar market rate according to another trading day at the extra session fell by Br100 to Br8890.

Russian ruble rate amounted to Br286, decreased by Br7, the euro fell by Br320 to Br12170.

On October 20 the National Bank plans to abandon the extra session and to set the rate of foreign currencies against the Belarusian ruble at the single session based on market supply and demand.