From January 15 to February 6, according to the Ministry of Finance, it is planned to purchase the US currency at the Moscow exchange in the amount of 257.1 billion rubles. , which is an absolute record for the entire time of operations to prevent excessive strengthening of the ruble, which started in February 2017. According to analysts Sberbank CIB, the federal treasury will buy on the stock exchange daily about $ 265 million a day, buying for the entire period about $ 4.5 billion. Compared to December, the volume of purchases of dollars by the Ministry of Finance will increase by 25%, in comparison with November by 210%, and by October - five times. According to the Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Anton Siluanov, while maintaining the current level of oil prices, about 2.8 trillion rubles will be transferred to the currency in 12 months, which is 3.5 times higher than last year's figure. For comparison, we recall that the expenditure on national defense in the budget of 2017 g. amounted to about 2.9 trillion rubles. What is the reason for such a massive buying up of the dollar and will it lead to excessive weakening of the ruble? However paradoxical it may sound, the main economic reason for buying up is just the desire to weaken the Russian currency. The past year has ruined the forecasts of analysts who expected the depreciation of the Russian currency to its end. All the cards experts confused oil prices, instead of the expected decline, demonstrating strong growth. It is expensive oil that became the main reason for the excessive strength of the Russian currency, which is so undesirable in the conditions of the raw material export model of the country's economy. To help the latter, and at the same time to increase the filling of the budget, can only forcibly weaken the ruble than during the year and is engaged by the Russian financial department. Most experts do not see an increase in the purchase of dollars of some serious problems. However, as well as special advantages. "We should not look for any deep meaning in the actions of the Ministry of Finance," the analyst of FC Kalita-finance Dmitry Golubovsky explained to UTRU. - They have a "budget rule", which they themselves invented with a fright when oil was passing through the bottoms, and now they simply observe it. All that comes to the country at a rate of more than 40 per barrel, is automatically sent to the ". "As oil rises in price, the volumes of currency interventions, or the necessary buying up of currency, grow. There is nothing wrong with this, except that this money does not go into domestic demand. And nothing good. Since the Ministry of Finance is buying up the currency, and not the Central Bank, there are no emissions, accordingly, there is no pressure on the rate similar to the spring of 2015, too, which we are now observing. Interventions are growing, but the ruble is still getting stronger. And it will be strengthened even more if oil goes further, "he added.. The same position is shared by the investment director of the IC "Peter Trust" Mikhail Altynov. In his opinion, everything that is happening is explained by the need to implement the "budget rule", in connection with which the statement of the Ministry of Finance did not become a surprise for market participants. Where more interest from the expert is caused by the incredibly high volumes of the upcoming buying and the lack of response to this from the foreign exchange market. "The Ministry of Finance will buy up currency in excess of $ 200 million a day. Such a rather large sum for daily trading volumes of 2 - 3 billion dollars does not cause any buyers' agiotage, the rate fell at the end of December and sluggishly declines at the beginning of the year, "Mikhail Altynov said.. "The answer may lie in the fact that even such a strong" bullish "factor as purchases of the Ministry of Finance is not able to interrupt the reasons pushing the ruble to strengthen, and the rate of decline. Probably, these are the expectations of the inflow of currency from rising oil prices, perhaps, the inflow of speculative capital into the stock market, perhaps something else, - suggested the analyst. - Definitely it is possible to say only that once again the ruble rate behaved at the end of the past - the beginning of this year is not quite as expected by the majority of ".

As for the possibility of a sharp jump in the dollar caused by such a massive buying, the experts practically rule out such an opportunity. At least this winter.

"Nothing unusual is expected in February," Amarkets leading analyst Artem Deev told "Utru". - Now there are favorable conditions for buying foreign currency and replenishing the country's currency reserves to increase solvency on external payments.

To the growth of the dollar this action will not lead. This was shown by December, when even at lower oil prices the ruble continued to strengthen ".

Thus, from all this we can conclude that the expected massive purchase of dollars by the Ministry of Finance will not lead to any catastrophic consequences for the exchange rate. With all the government's desire to weaken the ruble, the latter does not rush to weaken at all. In any case, as long as oil prices go up.