Major Russian exporters cut FX sales to 2024 low of $8 bln in Nov - Central Bank

MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) - Major Russian exporters reduced foreign currency sales 23% to $8 billion in November from $10.3 billion in October, the Central Bank said in financial market risks review.

These were the lowest monthly sales so far in 2024. The previous low was $8.3 billion in September.

The sales fell in November as exporters repaid forex loans to Russian banks, the regulator said.

Average daily net sales fell 16% to $379 million.

The biggest exporters sold 60% of their FX revenue in September, down 28 percentage points from August as they bought more currency to pay off FX debts. They sold 76% of their FX revenue in October. The Central Bank gives these figures with a lag of one month.

Individuals continued to sell foreign currency in November, for 68.1 billion rubles against 55.8 billion rubles in October. "The currency was sold evenly throughout the month. The volume of net sales by individuals was unchanged after the latest sanctions were imposed," the Central Bank said.

The currency spot market became more volatile in the second half of November against the backdrop of new U.S. sanctions. The ruble weakened against major foreign currencies, by 11% against the dollar and 8.4% against the yuan. "The sanctions primarily affected the financial sector and international settlements infrastructure, which affected the timing of the receipt of export revenue. Ruble dynamics were also affected by the purchase of currency by certain non-financial companies to pay off foreign exchange obligations," the Central Bank said.