Russian cbank says plans to raise hard currency reserves to $500 bln

MOSCOW, Aug 4 (PRIME) -- The Russian central bank has not abandoned the idea of raising foreign exchange reserves to U.S. $500 billion within 5-7 years from the current $360 billion, a spokesperson told PRIME late Monday.

On July 28, the authority suspended foreign currency purchases from the market amid ruble volatility. Before that, the daily amount of purchases stood at $100-200 million.

“The suspension of foreign currency purchases does not mean a central bank refusal to carry out the task of foreign reserve replenishment. The central bank still plans to raise their amount to a level of about $500 billion,” the spokesman said.

The central bank will decide on the restart of foreign currency purchases depending on the local market situation, situation on global markets and in the Russian economy in general. There is no ruble rate threshold to restart purchases, the official said.

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