Bank of Russia to change procedure for calculating dollar, euro rates

The Bank of Russia has announced that it would expand the time range for calculating the official dollar/ruble exchange rate, as well as simplify the procedure for setting the euro/ruble exchange rate, Report informs referring to the regulator.

“These measures are being taken to increase the representativeness of the dollar against the ruble against the background of increased volatility in the foreign exchange market,” the Central Bank notes.

Proposals with innovations have been sent for registration to the Ministry of Justice. It is proposed to set the official dollar rate based on the data of the Moscow Exchange on the weighted average dollar/ruble exchange rate for transactions concluded from 10:00 to 16:30 Moscow time (before that, the calculation period was 10:00–11:30), and the euro exchange rate against the ruble, as well as the official rates of other foreign currencies against the ruble.

The exchange rate of the ruble began to fall against the backdrop of sanctions imposed by the West due to Russia's military actions in Ukraine. The sanctions affected large Russian companies and banks, including Sberbank and VTB. The assets of Russia's Central Bank in Europe were also frozen. The Central Bank poll predicts an 8% decline in GDP and 20% inflation.