Belarus's central bank will not regulate the free floating national currency despite its weakening amid global economic turbulence, the National Bank's spokesman told Sputnik on Monday
MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th March, 2020) Belarus's central bank will not regulate the free floating national currency despite its weakening amid global economic turbulence, the National Bank's spokesman told Sputnik on Monday.
The Belarusian ruble weakened by 5 percent against the dollar at the national exchange market after global oil prices slumped to their lowest since 1991 following the implosion of the OPEC+ exporting alliance.
"The free float allows us to respond to conjuncture shocks without distorting the balance between demand for foreign currency and its supply on the internal market," Alexander Timoshenko explained.
He added that the central bank expected the Belarusian ruble to rebound after "external negative factors" weighing on the global market diminish. There have been fears of a looming oil trade war after Saudi Arabia said it would cut crude prices, in addition to the impact from the coronavirus outbreak.
