Unofficial dollar in purchasing non-cash currency in the Belarusian banks exceeds the official rate of National Bank by 65%. According to the forecasts of financial experts, the unofficial exchange rate will remain at the same level within the next two weeks.
The most profitable rate of non-cash dollar purchase is offered to exporters by Belinvestbank — Br5.1 thousand. If the transaction exceeds $20 thousand, the bank is ready to increase the rate to Br5.15 per dollar. In turn, Belarusbank is ready to offer Br4.8 thousand per dollar from corporate clients, and up to Br5 thousand in sale transactions.
Lawyers of state banks explain that the transaction requires individual negotiations with the entity, as well as a supplementary agreement. In order to sell some currency to legal entities the finance committee of the bank shall be convened, which decides whether to sell the currency to a particular company or enterprise or not.
As noted by economist Irina Urban, currency inflows are missing to satisfy such a pent-up demand for the currency. According to experts, this could lead to a further rise in unemployment. «Strengthening currencies will not happen in such a situation. In addition, exports and imports will continue to decrease. This will also affect employment. 600 thousand people have stopped working, said National Statistical Committee. And this is not the final figure, if such ineffective measures continue being accepted,» the expert is convinced.
As Telegraf previously reported, despite the unwillingness of the Belarusian authorities to devalue the ruble, the National Bank of Belarus has passed a decision to expand a corridor of acceptable change of the Belarusian ruble to a basket of currencies (dollar, Euro, Russian ruble) from 8% to 12% from May 12. Appropriate decision was made by the National Bank in consultation with the bodies of state administration on May 5, 2011.
The International Monetary Fund believes that the decision of the National Bank will not improve the situation on the foreign exchange market. «Extending the boundaries of the corridor makes it possible to make the exchange rate more flexible to some extent, but this solution does not change the situation on the foreign exchange market,» said the head of the Fund in Belarus, Natalia Koliadina.
