Belarusians rush to buy up foreign exchange

In September demand for foreign exchange has gone up sharply.

In Belarus the demand of the population for foreign exchange has grown by $75.1 mln in September, as compared to August, the data of the National Bank shows.

As reported by BelaPAN, over the first autumn month the population of Belarus has bought $862.8 mln of foreign exchange, and sold $896.3 mln. Thus, the net sales of foreign exchange by the population were $33.5 mln.

It should be noted that as compared to August, the volume of foreign exchange sold by the population increased insignificantly (by 16.3 mln). At the same time, the volume of foreign exchange bought by the population in September increased as compared to August by $75.1 mln.

As a result, the net sale of foreign exchange by the population in September as compared to August has decreased considerably. While the volume of net sales of foreign exchange by the population in August was $92.4 mln, in September it was almost three times as little.

It should be noted that almost the entire first half of the year, before July, the population was a buyer at the currency market – more currency was bought than sold. The decrease of the demand for foreign exchange from the population, which was observed this summer, is explained by experts by an inflow of credit resources to the country for support of its gold and currency resources, which allowed decreasing the level of devaluation expectations in the society.

We remind that in the end of May after Belarus signed the Agreement on the Eurasian Economic union, Russia gave a $2 bn loan to Belarus.

At the same time, Belarusian economists believe that in the second half of the year, amid the deteriorating situation in the trade balance, the behavior of the population at the currency market could change, and demand for foreign exchange will grow.

“The current stability at the money market is illusionary. The Russian loan of $2 bn has calmed the market, but the reasons of our problems have not been eliminated. When the visible trade of balance will deteriorate, gold and currency reserves are to fall, and the situation at the money market could become difficult again,” the economist of the Belarusian Economic Research and Educational Centre (BEROC) Dzmitry Kruk believes.