The Transnistrian ruble will either freely depreciate or will collapse or the administration of the Transnistrian region will control this depreciation, the region’s leader Yevgheny Shevchuk said, commenting on the currency deficit in the region. In a radio program, this stated that the depreciation of the ruble is highly probable and a balance between the supply and demand of currency needs to be urgently ensured, IPN reports.
According to Shevchuk, the currency deficit in the region is due to the decline in external trade and no improvement is yet forecast. Another cause for the deficit is the signing of a new contract for the supply of electricity to the right bank of the Nistru at a price that is by almost 30% lower than the previous one. The supply of electric power provides the region with a part of the necessary currency.
The Transnistrian leader added that the depreciation of the national currencies in Moldova ad Ukraine made the prices of some of the goods to decrease in relation to the Transnistrian ruble and this makes the region’s inhabitants to buy lei or hrivnas and to go to make purchases on the right bank of the Nistru or in Ukraine. This also makes the volume of foreign currencies to diminish in the Transnistrian banks.
Yevgheny Shevchuk noted that if the Transnistrian ruble depreciates and the inflation is higher than projected, the region’s administration will have to increase pensions and salaries of budget-funded employees, but everything depends on the resources that will be available at that moment.
