The ruble fell 15 points Wednesday in trading on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange to close at 4,545 rubles to the dollar, as rubles from last week's Central Bank dollar purchases continued to hit the market, dealers said.


Dealers said the Central Bank sold $16 million during trading, bridging the gap between a supply of $50 million and initial orders for $66 million. Volume traded was $66 million.


On the interbank market, the ruble dropped even further to 4,565/68 per dollar from yesterday's late 4,552/55.


But they said banks were unlikely to press the ruble for fear of Central Bank intervention. They also said banks had more free funds now that they had met requirements on reserve payments.


"The rubles are really cheap, but banks will not risk gambling on a much higher dollar because who knows what the Central Bank is up to," said an Uneximbank dealer.


Yields on overnight ruble credits fell to a normal market average of 30 to 50 percent from last week's peaks of over 400 percent. (Reuters, MT)