Rubel may weaken slightly this year, official says

The Belarusian rubel may weaken slightly against major currencies this year, Mikalay Luzhin, first deputy chairman of the National Bank of Belarus (NBB), told reporters in Minsk on January 22, BelaPAN said.

"With an inflation target of 10 to 12 percent set for this year, there apparently should be some slight devaluation as was last year," said Mr. Luzhin. "But it's not a big deal if it is only a slight and gradual one. It will be a normal situation provided there is an increase in households' inflation-adjusted incomes and real GDP growth."

According to the official, the Belarusian rubel weakened by 2.6 percent against the US dollar, by five percent against the euro and by eight percent against the Russian ruble in 2012.

Mr. Luzhin stressed that the rubel's exchange rate would be determined exclusively by the market forces of supply and demand this year. The NBB has no task of "artificially" maintaining a certain exchange rate, the official said. "The only task is to smooth out fluctuations and adjust the [rubel's] exchange rate depending on changes in exchange rates in international markets," he added.

The official described the current financial situation as stable.

"We project a much lower inflation rate this year [than in 2012]. I believe we accomplished a very important task last year by securing a fairly stable financial situation. The same task must be fulfilled this year as well," he said.