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Some Speculative Bucks Stay in Russia
The first data on the outflow of speculative capital from Russia in August because of the worldwide crisis in liquidity were published by the Central Bank yesterday. Gold and currency reserves decreased only $900 million, 0.2 percent, between August 18 and 24, while the Bank was expecting a drop of $3-4 billion. Two weeks earlier, there had been a $5.5-billion reduction. Sources at the Finance Ministry estimated that the outflow of capital for the entire month reached $9.1 billion, which is half of what analysts were predicting in the heat of the crisis.
A Finance Ministry source released figures concerning the outflow of capital from Russia yesterday. According to that information, the net outflow of capital for the week of August 10 to 17 was $4.6 billion. From August 17 to 24, it was 4.4 billion. Between August 3 and 10, there was an influx of $2.4 billion. None of the numbers are precise, since there is no data available yet on the balance of trade. Nonetheless, it is clear that expectations of capital outflow were exaggerated.
It is too early to determine the long-range development of the situation on the world market. Assessments are still being made in the European Union and United States of the losses on the subprime mortgage market and in collateralized debt obligations, which will determine the scope of future problems on European financial markets. The crucial phase of the crisis showed that the Central Bank of Russia was able to manage a threat of that magnitude. The Bank has yet to reduce its estimate of the influx of capital for the year, which remain at the level of two months ago, $70 billion.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 31, 2007
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Photo: Alexander Miridonov
