Andrei Belousov, an economic advisor to the Kremlin, said on Friday he thought the Russian central bank should resume its purchases of forex if the value of the dollar fell back below 60 roubles, Russian agencies reported. "It will be necessary to buy forex once the rouble is strengthening - against the background of a steady strengthening of the rouble. I think that if (the dollar) will fall a little below 60, then it will be necessary to begin," he told the Interfax news agency.
The central bank suspended its forex purchases in late July, saying there was no set rouble rate at which they would resume. However, it has made clear it will restart them at some point as it intends to restore its forex reserves to $500 billion over the coming years. Commenting on Belousov's remarks, the central bank said that resumption of the purchases would depend on market conditions, but reiterated its position that the decision wouldn't be linked to the rouble reaching a particular level. "The Bank of Russia doesn't establish concrete levels for macroeconomic indicators, at which purchase of foreign currency may be resumed or stopped," it said in a statement.