OREANDA-NEWS. In 2019, the ruble appreciated against the dollar, but not 2020 will be relatively calm for the ruble, economists surveyed by the Russian media forecast. At the beginning of the year, the Russian currency may strengthen, and in the second half of the year - weaken to 65 rubles. for the dollar. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg have similar expectations: according to their forecasts, the average rate in 2020 will fluctuate around 64–64.5 rubles for one dollar.

The year 2019 ends with the ruble below 62 rubles per dollar: since the beginning of the year, it has strengthened by 12.6% as of the last trading day on December 30. Over the past year, the exchange rate of the Russian currency, on the contrary, fell - by 17.5%. In 2017, the ruble didn't reach the level of 2017 (57.6 rubles per dollar at the end of December): it traded in the range from 62 to 70 rubles for the dollar.

The ruble remains underestimated, according to Citi economist for Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Artem Zaigrin: throughout 2019, a high level of risk premium in the ruble supported the influence of the budget rule (the mechanism of currency purchases by the Ministry of Finance on excess profit from oil is more expensive than $ 41.6).