Leading Russian exporters reduce forex sales to multiyear low of $2.1 bln in Sept

MOSCOW. Oct 9 (Interfax) - Russia's largest exporters reduced foreign currency sales to a new multiyear low of $2.1 billion in September from $2.4 billion in August, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) reported.

The previous multiyear low was $2.2 billion in July. The largest exporters thus slashed forex sales to just $6.7 billion in the third quarter, which was less than the $7.6 billion sold in June alone.

The CBR said earlier that the share of the largest exporters on the Russian forex market has shrunk due to changes in the calculation structure, while the share of other companies has increased, so net forex sales by nonfinancial companies overall rather than by the largest exporters is becoming a more representative indicator for operational analysis.

Nonfinancial companies increased forex sales by 26% month-on-month to $23.7 billion in September, compared to a monthly average of $19.7 billion in the previous 12 months.