Russia's largest exporters reduced their foreign currency sales to $2.1 billion in September from $2.4 billion in August, according to Bank of Russia data.
This is a new multi-year low. The previous low of $2.2 billion was recorded in July.
Thus, for the third quarter as a whole, the largest exporters sold $6.7 billion in foreign currency, which is less than in June alone ($7.6 billion).
The regulator has previously noted that the share of the largest exporters in the Russian foreign exchange market has declined due to changes in the structure of settlements, while the share of other companies has increased. Therefore, the volume of net foreign currency sales by non-financial companies as a whole, rather than by the largest exporters, is becoming a more indicative indicator for prompt analysis.
In September, non-financial companies increased their foreign currency sales by 26% compared to August, to $23.7 billion (the average over the previous 12 months was $19.7 billion).