The Russian Ministry of Finance will almost triple daily purchases of foreign currency from March 5. By April 6, the department will acquire foreign currency totaling 148.1 billion rubles (two billion dollars). A message about this was published on the official resource of the Ministry of Finance.

Such actions increase the demand for foreign currency, and therefore weaken the ruble. According to the department’s estimates, in February the average price of Urals oil was $60.78 per barrel, and since the beginning of the year – $57.6 per barrel. Additional income from oil and gas sales in the amount of 116.9 billion rubles is expected in March. It will happen due to the excess of the actual price over the base level.

In the medium term, the price of raw materials will increase, so that the Ministry of Finance will start buying even more currency. In the absence of substantial shocks, an increase in foreign currency purchases will not have a significant influence on the ruble exchange rate.