What to Do with Rubles?

Since the middle of last week, the Russian ruble has been dropping in value relative to other currencies, dinar included, in the international market.

This is a consequence of the current geopolitical crisis.

The weakening of the Russian ruble relative to the euro and the dollar in the past week is around 28% and 30% respectively, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) says for B92.net.

– Since the dinar exchange rate relative to the Russian ruble is formed in the local market based on the dinar exchange rate toward the euro, which is relatively stable and has not recorded significant changes in this period, and the inter-currency relation between the euro and the Russian ruble which is in effect in the international financial market, the changes of the dinar exchange rate relative to the Russian ruble in the observed period reflect the changes of the value of the Russian ruble in the international market – the NBS explains.

The NBS middle exchange rate of the dinar to the Russian ruble has therefore recorded a growth of 28% in this period, which means that the value of the Russian ruble relative to the dinar has dropped.

Exchange offices not obliged to accept rubles

The rumors are that exchange offices in Belgrade do not want to trade with rubles, that is, they’re not accepting them.

The NBS notes that banks, authorized exchange offices and the public postal operator are not obliged to include on their exchange lists all the currencies whose trading is allowed in the FX market of the Republic of Serbia.

For example, according to the data available to the NBS, several banks had the Russian ruble on their exchange lists as effective foreign money at the beginning of the year, and the situation is almost unchanged even now.

An authorized exchange office can have the Russian ruble on its list if the bank with which it has an agreement on the carrying out of exchange activities also has it on its list, the NBS adds.

The current value

The official NBS middle exchange rate for these two currencies on the date of March 2, 2022, was 0.9448 dinars for one Russian ruble.

Once a day, at the beginning of each work day, banks in the Republic of Serbia freely form and publish their exchange lists for FX and effective foreign money, in line with the inter-currency relations in foreign markets.

Authorized exchange offices and the public postal operator form their exchange lists once a day, at the beginning of each work day, in line with the exchange list of the bank or banks that they have signed agreements with on the carrying out of exchange activities. Considering this, it can be expected for the exchange rate of the dinar relative to the Russian ruble on the lists of said market participants to reflect the current trends in the value of the Russian ruble in the international financial market, the NBS reminds.

What happens to the exchange rate?

When it comes to the exchange rate of the dinar to the Russian ruble, its shifts in the upcoming period cannot be predicted, because it primarily depends on the exchange rate of the ruble in the international market, which, in the foreseeable future, will largely be under the influence of the development of the current situation, the NBS says in its response.

Narodna banka Srbije Beograd

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