Central Bank and Alexander Kornilov

ruble: A weaker currency therefore boosts companies' earnings in ruble terms, according to The Moscow Times. After strengthening to less than 49 per dollar in mid-May, the ruble has lost over 7 percent since the Central Bank announced last month it would start buying up to $200 million a day to replenish its foreign exchange reserves. Russia is the world second-largest oil exporter and a major player in gas, steel and diamonds, all of which are traded mainly in dollars. It is currently trading at around 55 per dollar, around 40 percent weaker than a year ago after plunging in tandem with oil prices in late 2014. It is also expected to cut interest rates by 100 basis points next week, which would weaken the currency further. "A strong ruble is not beneficial for anyone," noted Alexander Kornilov, an analyst with Alfa Bank. That is in line with forecasts for 2015 by major companies such as LUKoil and Norilsk Nickel. "The Central Bank forex purchases sent an important signal to the market that the ruble strengthening speed at the time was too high," Sberbank CIB analyst Iskander Abdullaev said. "Of course, a weaker ruble is more of benefit for companies and the economy now and next year." The Central Bank says it wants to boost reserves to around $500 billion over the next few years from $361.6 billion now. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.