Stanislau Bahdankevich: Devaluation is only way out for National Bank

The authorities have no other way out of the current economic situation except the devaluation.

Stanislau Bahdankevich, a former chief of the Belarusian National Bank, spoke to charter97.org about the ruble's possible 20%-30% fall in the middle of autumn.

“As for the economic situation in the country, it is deteriorating drastically. We can see it in figures. The National Bank's gold and foreign currency reserves have reduced by more than 7% since the beginning of the year. If we count the reserves of the whole banking system, they have fallen more than twofold from 30.5 trillion rubles to slightly more than 14 trillion,” the economist noted.

He underlined that the country's GDP rose a little more than 1%, which is extremely low, while people's cash earning grew 20%.

“Such huge imbalances in economy cannot but lead to devaluation. There's no other way out. The question is whether it will be gradual or sharp. I personally think the devaluation is needed. It is being curbed artificially which can lead to collapse. Economy will survive a 30% fall of the ruble, but living standards will drop significantly,” the expert summed up.

The National Bank discusses the ruble's possible 20%-30% devaluation in late September – early October.