Sberbank forecasts stable currency market until year-end - Gref

MOSCOW. Nov 7 (Interfax) - The ruble's fundamental exchange rate is 85-90 rubles/$1, with Sberbank forecasting a stable currency market situation in until the end of this year, said the lender's chief, Herman Gref, said during a press conference on Tuesday.

"As for foreign currency earnings, it is obvious that supply on the market has increased," he said, commenting on the impact of the presidential decree to make the biggest exporters sell their forex earnings.

"As you can see, the ruble has stabilized. I don't think there is anything unnatural about this. What was unnatural was when an alternative OTC currency market was effectively set up and moved abroad, the ruble was actually being converted into dollars abroad. I think that there is the potential to bring this trading back to the Russian floor," Gref said.

He said the ruble's fundamental exchange rate was between in the 85-90 rubles/$1 range. "The ruble should be somewhere between these figures, well, 90 give or take. We do not expect it to deviate much from these levels. In general, we predict a stable situation until the end of the year. There has been a period of tax payments, so there has been a lot of demand for rubles. The ruble has strengthened, and a whole range of factors continue to support the ruble, so the tendency is towards strengthening rather than weakening," Gref said.