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[QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 44600, member: 636"]
Russian money experts talked about currency values at a major business meeting this week. The ruble keeps getting stronger even though many people thought it would weaken. One dollar costs 78.48 rubles and one euro costs 89.84 rubles according to Friday rates. The Chinese yuan stayed almost the same at 10.86 rubles. Oil prices going up because of Middle East problems helped make the ruble stronger.

Government leaders worry the strong ruble hurts companies that sell things to other countries. First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said companies cannot make money when they export goods. He thinks 100 rubles per dollar would work better for everyone. VTB bank chief Andrey Kostin wants the rate around 90 to 100 rubles per dollar. The government predicted the dollar would cost 94.3 rubles on average this year.

Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina said fighting high prices comes first. She wants to keep price increases at 4 percent each year. The bank will lower interest rates when prices stop rising fast. Interest rates dropped from 21 percent to 20 percent earlier this month. Nabiullina feels more sure about the ruble staying strong than she did in April.

Oil prices went above 79 dollars per barrel for the first time since January. Experts worry about Iran blocking an important shipping route. About one third of natural gas and one fifth of oil shipments go through that area. Prices could jump to 150 dollars per barrel if the route gets blocked.
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