Panic buying of cash dollars continues in Minsk

The desire of Belarusian citizens to save money holdings during the crisis has caused panic buying of cash dollars. Where there’s demand, there’s supply; and illegal money changers have appeared in Belarus again.

Bankers have always been avoiding to place all eggs in one basket, and they prefer a basket of currencies. As for the population, citizens usually buy the currency which is growing: in the end of 2006-beginning of 2007 people were buying dollars, in spring and summer 2008 – Euro, and now dollars again, Deutsche Welle informs.

Two weeks ago dollar became stronger, and people rushed to buy up dollars. It was possible to buy dollars in VTB Bank at 2,119 Br, and up to 2,148 in SOMBelBank. The difference is 29 rubles. As for the dollar, in most of the banks it was offered at a price of 2,160 Br, and in a number of banks the price was about 2,162 Br.

Thus, the maximum difference of selling price and purchase price of dollar in exchange offices was 43 Br. As a rule, a better exchange rate was in large branches of the banks , than in exchange offices of shops. Meanwhile, with currency started in exchange offices, and illegal money changers appeared. They have dollars, but at a rate of up to 2,170 Br. It means the difference with the minimal exchange rate of dollars in bank was 51 ruble.

It is possible to buy currency, but only in “special places”

A reporter of Deutsche Welle Pauliuk Bykouski has held a survey among his acquaintances who had to buy currency recently for different reasons. Was it easy to buy?

“If was very difficult for me. I visited one bank, they didn’t buy Russian rubles and didn’t sell dollars. I visited another bank, and they didn’t sell dollars and bought rubles at a low rate. When I visited tow more banks, they didn’t have dollars, and in the third the last dollars were bought right before me”.

It turns out that to buy US dollars in Minsk one needs perseverance and luck. Exchange offices usually had no change, and a person has to sell large banknotes in total. But one should know special places where exchange operations are done without trouble. “It was easy for me to buy currency. I bought it in the branch of the National bank, in its exchange office. There wasn’t any queue,” said one of the persons asked.

In cash machines dollars were available without any limitations or problems. but one girl was told in an exchange office that she can only be sold 9 dollars. When the journalist told about that to his friend, he said laughingly that he was more lucky: “They were happy and proud to tell me that they had 50 dollars”.