The rouble rate is based on oil prices rather than currency intervention. Comment from Ilgiz Baymuratov made for the Federal Press

The declared increase in buying-ins by the Finance Ministry looks kind of illogic amid appreciation of the rouble and further optimistic forecast. The financial regulator knows or supposes for sure something that contradicts with the cheaper dollar forecast. The national budget has been prepared with a "hole" to be plugged with the resources from the Reserve Fund and loans. The currency bought in the market at the end of the year will be transferred to the Reserve Fund and then sold for roubles which will be used to cover the budget deficit of the next year. The Finance Ministry may be sure that the rouble will depreciate at the end of the year. Otherwise why make a song and dance now and make deficit. Ilgiz Baymuratov, Deputy General Director of FinExpertiza, made a comment on the situation with the rouble exchange rate forecast:

Ilgiz Baymuratov

Deputy General Director of FinExpertiza

- The decision to buy in was made within the approach agreed at the beginning of the year. Under this approach, the Finance Ministry shall send excess profit from sale of hydrocarbon for buying in. Any excess profit is made of higher prices compared to the budgeted ones. The Finance Ministry plans to buy currency in the amount equal to RUB 624 billion by the end of 2017. Over RUB 300 billion of them were spent on foreign currency during the period from February to July. Since the oil market prices were in excess of the cut-off price of USD 40 per barrel which has been budgeted, the excess profit earned allowed to ensure funds to buy in. Until recently, the buying-in has not influenced the exchange rate despite the fact that each month the Finance Ministry bought various amounts of foreign currency. This is oil prices and their trends that make pressure on the rouble rate rather than currency interventions from the Finance Ministry.