The dollar in Belarus will depreciate by the end of the year - P.Prokopovich

November 23, Minsk /BELTA/. The dollar will weaken in Belarus by the end of the year. This was stated today to journalists by Petr Prokopovich, Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Belarus, as reported by BELTA correspondent. "According to our forecasts, the Belarusian ruble will not devalue against the US dollar anymore. The Belarusian ruble will strengthen," said Petr Prokopovich. He explained that the US dollar has recently become very volatile. "The dollar has become an unstable and unpredictable currency," noted the head of the National Bank. In addition, the dollar is significantly overvalued against the Belarusian ruble. "Therefore, by the end of 2010, the exchange rate will decrease and will be close to Br3000 per $1," noted Petr Prokopovich. He also reported that in 2011, the stability of the national currency against both the US dollar and the basket of foreign currencies will be maintained. Overall, according to the National Bank's forecasts, fluctuations in the exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble against the basket of foreign currencies in the coming year are expected to be within +/- 3-5%. It should be recalled that in accordance with the Main Directions of Monetary Policy of Belarus for 2011, the regime of pegging the exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble to the cost of the basket of foreign currencies will be maintained within a corridor of +/- 8% from the central value, equal to the cost of the basket formed by the beginning of 2011. For the current year, this indicator is planned within +/- 10%. At the same time, this year, fluctuations of the Belarusian ruble against the basket of foreign currencies ranged from strengthening by 1% to weakening by 4%. As of November 1, 2010, the cost of the basket of foreign currencies amounted to Br1074.2. "The exchange rate dynamics that have developed during the current year will be maintained until the end of the year. That is, no significant deviations are expected," said Petr Prokopovich, explaining that the corridor for fluctuations of the Belarusian ruble exchange rate against the basket of foreign currencies until the end of the year will be +/- 3-4%. At the same time, the head of the National Bank noted that the situation of January 2, 2009, will not be repeated in 2011. "January 2 has gone down in history. We have already lived through it. There will be no more such cases," he said. Petr Prokopovich explained that the one-time devaluation was due to the requirements of the IMF. "Today, the situation is completely different. There is no need to take such steps. There are no obligations to the IMF, no need to seek support from the IMF, we have enough of our own resources," noted the Chairman of the Board of the National Bank, but added that the agreement with the IMF was generally successful for Belarus. In addition, the global situation is also completely different today. "We can borrow on foreign markets," said Petr Prokopovich. According to the head of the National Bank, the stability of the national currency is also confirmed by the growth of the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves. As of November 1, 2010, international reserve assets in national definition amounted to $6365 million, which is almost $400 million more than at the beginning of the year. -0-