MOSCOW, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Trading in the Russian rouble
against the dollar is easing back to health on the interbank
eletronic trading system at the Moscow Interbank Currency
Exchange (MICEX), a bourse official said on Friday.
The central bank cancelled three regular sessions of foreign
exchange trading at MICEX, including Friday's, after saying
previously it saw no point in major intervention to prop up the
rouble since it was the only seller of dollars on the market.
Foreign exchange trading organised by banks themselves has
not formally been halted but has been crippled by mutual
mistrust among banks and the lack of a transparent rouble-dollar
fix on the main market.
The MICEX official said tension had eased on Friday on the
MICEX's own interbank electronic foreign exchange trading system
called SELT, where the exchange has set up a system of
guarantees of deliveries.
"The foreign exchange market has livened up. Starting from
yesterday evening firm bid and offer quotes for U.S. dollars
appeared on the MICEX electronic trading system SELT," the
official told Reuters.
The MICEX official said the average rouble/dollar rate on
roubles for today delivery was 12.89 roubles to the dollar, with
the last deal at 10.30 roubles to the dollar, on reported
turnover of $72.6 million.
Roubles for tomorrow delivery were trading at an average
rate of 12.05 roubles to the dollar on volume of $2.1 million,
he said.
Traders at MICEX on Thursday bid 8.2 roubles to dollar
against offers of 9.5 roubles to the dollar before trading was
suspended.
The central bank had set its official Friday rate at 7.86
roubles to the dollar.
The MICEX official said the rouble with today delivery
opened at 15 roubles per dollar, but later rose to 12 roubles
per dollar.
((Julie Tolkacheva, Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941-8520
moscow.newsroom@reuters.com))
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