Russian PM demands to restore order at currency market

MOSCOW -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday warned citizens and companies of attempting to make profit in the current unstable financial situation, calling the ongoing events at the currency market a "game of emotions."

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar and head of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia Alexander Boroda at the Kremlin in Moscow, December 17, 2014.  [Photo/Agencies]

"We must proceed from the fact that purchasing of currency in the present situation means buying it by unfavorable rate," Medvedev told a government meeting.

He noted that the government possessed enough foreign currency to finance economic projects and called to restore order on the currency market promptly.

"The exchange rate has spilled out of the limits which are comfortable for our economy," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

Medvedev reiterated earlier remarks made by various senior government officials that ruble has been underestimated and its rate does not match the actual state of affairs in the Russian economy.

The government would work with exclusively market tools and in close coordination with the Central Bank, he noted.

The meeting was also attended by top managers of Russia's ten largest companies, including gas monopoly Gazprom, oil giants Rosneft, Bashneft, Tatneft and Lukoil.

The prime minister ordered the state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring to start daily monitoring of how these companies spend their currency reserves.

This is the second government meeting in the last two days devoted to the situation at the Russian financial sector. On Tuesday, dubbed by the local media as "black", Medvedev convened an extraordinary meeting to discuss response measures in the current financial and economic situation in the country.