OREANDA-NEWS The head of the research department of investment strategies of Alfa-Forex, Spartak Sobolev, allowed the dollar to strengthen to 104 rubles by mid-October. His words are quoted by Izvestia.

Much will depend on the new data on Russia's trade balance for August and the September inflation report in the country. These factors can lead both to a slight strengthening of the national currency to the world's leading units of account, and to its weakening. "By the end of the week, we expect fluctuations in the dollar in the range of 98-104 rubles, the euro in the range of 104-108 rubles, and the yuan — 13.45—14.50 rubles," the analyst said.

He cited the growing geopolitical tensions in the world as one of the main reasons for the high volatility of the ruble. Without taking into account this factor, the high level of the Central Bank's key rate could lead to a greater influx of "hot" capital from financial institutions, which would support the Russian national currency, Sobolev concluded.

On October 9, during trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange, the dollar exchange rate exceeded 102 rubles for the first time since March 2022. At its peak, the US currency strengthened against the Russian one to 102.28 rubles. However, closer to 15:00 Moscow time, the quotes dropped slightly to the level of 102.15 rubles. Despite this, the overall increase since the beginning of the day was 1.75 percent.