Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Why buy Gold?

The National Bank of Belarus (NBB) is sharply devaluing the official rate of Belarusian ruble. The exchange rate as of May 24 was set at 4,930 rubles per dollar. a decrease of 56% from the 23 May.

The National Bank of Belarus has officially confirmed a sharp depreciation of the currency. On its website it has published the official exchange rate of Belarusian ruble: $ 1 - Br4930 (a decrease of 56,3% to the rate on 23 May), 1 Euro - Br6914, 82 (a decrease of 53,1%), 1 Russian ruble - Br173 , 95 (a decrease of 53,9%). The official rate for May 23 was set at 3,155 rubles per dollar.

Earlier, the Belarusian authorities stated that in the near future a unification of the national currency will occur in two phases. "In the first stage decisions will be made to bring down the increased demand, and upon receipt of the loan rate will be formed on the basis of supply and demand, thus lowering the expectations today are still there," - said on May 20, Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich.

Meanwhile, representatives of Belarusian banks have criticized the mechanism of devaluation. "The problem is not in the specific value of the exchange rate and in the mechanism. The question is: under whose speculative decisions did the National Bank make this choice?" - Said the agency "Interfax-West" management representative of a bank with Russian capital. In this case, the representative of a state bank believes that "this decision should be viewed as an interim measure." According to him, "the trend is obvious: the official exchange rate will move in the direction of the OTC exchange rate, rather than vice versa."

Earlier, BNB announced the termination of containment of the Belarusian ruble to the retail market: from May 12 to lift restrictions on banks to buy and sell currencies population - 2% of the official rate.

Monday, May 9, 2011