According to the analyst, for almost the whole of January 2023, the ruble was strengthening against world reserve currencies.
As the expert noted, since the beginning of the year, the ruble has risen in price by 2.5% against the dollar, and by 2.2% against the euro.
“No January“ collapse ”of the ruble, which was predicted by pessimists, did not happen.
And over the week, the dynamics of currency pairs was mixed: against the dollar, the ruble fell by 0.6%, and against the euro it strengthened by 0.8%,” Milchakova stressed.
According to her, the ruble exchange rate in late January - early February will largely depend on the decision of the US Federal Reserve on interest rates, which will be announced on the evening of February 1.
“Analysts expect the Fed to raise interest rates by a smaller amount than at previous meetings of the open markets committee, that is, by only 0.25 percentage points.
This may contribute to the weakening of the dollar against the currencies of other countries,” she added.
Milchakova also believes that news about new sanctions against Russia has ceased to have a significant impact on the ruble exchange rate.
“Nevertheless, the geopolitical background remains still tense, which can cause sharp fluctuations in currency pairs during the week.
Next week, we expect at the dollar rate - 68-70 rubles per dollar, at the euro rate - 74.5-76.5 rubles per euro, ”concluded the interlocutor of RT.
Earlier, Vladimir Bragin, Director for Analysis of Macroeconomics and Financial Markets of Alfa Capital Management Company, said that the euro could again begin to move towards parity with the dollar.