Finance minister says higher imports behind ruble weakening

MOSCOW, Dec 22 (PRIME) -- The current weakening of the Russian ruble is mostly due to the growth of imports, while the oil price restrictions affect the market participants only morally, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters on Thursday.

"Imports have become more active, this is the first reason," Siluanov said. "I guess the restrictions on oil, on gas do not have an effect in terms of financial consequences now. But most probably they have affected market participants morally."

The official said that the ruble volatility does not affect inflation expectations for 2022.

The Finance Ministry has retained its expectations for 2022 budget deficit at 2% of the gross domestic product (GDP), the minister also said.

The ministry does not rule out a return to foreign currency purchases in 2023, if the oil and gas income of the budget exceeds 8 trillion rubles, Siluanov said.

(70.5256 rubles – U.S. $1)

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