18 Jun 2009 11:23

Dollar declines slightly at open on MICEX

MOSCOW. June 18 (Interfax) - The dollar lost ground against the ruble in the first minutes of trading on the MICEX currency exchange on Thursday, while the euro advanced slightly. The ruble gained a bit against the Central Bank's currency basket amid a stable euro in forex trading and uncertainty on global capital markets.

The dollar opened trading in "tom" contracts in the range 31.1-31.15 rubles/$1, 10 kopecks below the close on Wednesday and about equal to the official exchange rate.

The first deal in euro was transacted at 43.4 rubles/1 euro, slightly higher than the previous close.

The bicurrency basket ($0.55 and 0.45 euro) was in the range 36.6-36.65 rubles, approximately 5 kopecks lower than on Wednesday.