OREANDA-NEWS. January 30, 2009. After setting a trading band for fluctuations in the ruble’s exchange rate against the bi-currency basket (Rub 26-41) the Central Bank of Russia wants to allow market players to determine the ruble’s equilibrium exchange rate and is trying to stay away from trading, presidential economic aide Arkady Dvorkovich said.

"The Central Bank is trying to stay out of the forex market as much as possible to avoid artificial pressures and to allow supply to determine the market exchange rate within the band," Dvorkovich said Thursday. After the ruble hit a new record low against the greenback and the euro on Thursday CBR made interventions far beyond the announced range, selling USD 3-4 bn, according to dealers’ estimates.