Dollar For Two Rubles: How Soon Will It Cost More?

Another psychological threshold has been crossed.

The dollar, which has been growing for almost two weeks, is already over Br 2 in our exchange offices. What is going on and what should Belarusians expect next? – these issues are discussed by the Belsat television channel in its reportage.

The euro, which costs Br 2.37 now, has cut another record as well

"Nothing is happening to the Belarusian ruble. The value of the currency basket has been fluctuating within plus 5% to the level since the beginning of the year for several weeks already. At the same time, we see active waves among some of the currencies, and this is the result of what happens in foreign markets," – economist Vadzim Yasub explains.

It is noteworthy that the dollar has been becoming more expensive at all the auctions since the end of October. However, the domestic currency held high positions fairly confidently for a long time. Now, according to experts, the dollar is growing against the Russian ruble in Russia, primarily because of the Western sanctions against the Kremlin and expectation of new economic restrictions. Taking into account the fact that the domestic basket of currencies is tied to the Russian currency, the dollar and euro exchange rate is growing in Belarus, and there is a decline in the Russian ruble.

Thus, is Russia to blame for the depreciation?

"Up to rumors, there is talking that some large Russian companies will have to pay large foreign currency loans before the end of the year, and so they are massively buying the currency now. It is impossible to say how long these factors will last, and therefore it is very difficult to forecast the Belarusian ruble," – Yasub says.

The current growth of the US currency against the Russian ruble in the neighboring country goes in parallel with the growth of the dollar against the Belarusian currency, and this indicates that our ruble is not kept artificially low, and therefore we shouldn’t expect a one-time depreciation or introducing of another currency purchase tax, as it already happened at the end of 2014.

Experts advise adhering to the principle of diversification

Speaking in the language of finance, one-third of the savings should be kept in euros, another one – in dollars, and the rest of them – in Belarusian rubles. At that, economists emphasize: it does not matter how the rates on deposits have decreased, and therefore, the domestic currency can be saved in cash.