OREANDA-NEWS. On 04 May 2009 was announced, that The Belarusian ruble will remain stable against the basket of currencies in the second quarter of 2009, with possible fluctuations within 1%, Chairman of the National Bank of Belarus (NBB) Petr Prokopovich said during his report to President Alexander Lukashenko, the press service of the president said in a statement.

“We plan a 1% band around the basket parity,” Prokopovich said.

Prokopovich pledged that all monetary targets would be met in the second quarter.

So far in 2009, all major indicators of Belarus’ monetary policy have met the requirements, Prokopovich said. The central bank focuses on the real sector, especially lending to real sector companies, work of the payment system and stability of the exchange rate.

In the period April 1, 2008 through April 1, 2009 bank loans to the national economy rose 60%.

The exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble against the basket of currencies has remained within the 5% band.

The overall volume of payments within the national payment system in the first quarter rose 72% year-on-year to 233 trillion rubles, which, according to Prokopovich, testifies to the active work of Belarusian companies.