According to the Central Bank of Russia, the Russian residents’ demand for the U.S. dollars rose by nearly two times in October compared with September 2011. Russians bought over $1bn worth of the U.S. dollars altogether, while the net demand for the euro decreased by over two and a half times, RIA Novosti refers to the Central Bank’s report as stating. This means that the demand for the euro came to $200m in October 2011, Bank Koltso Urala reports.

Experts point out that this trend has been brought about by the instability in the Eurozone: the trust in the euro has been undermined, while the dollar, on the other hand, keeps gaining popularity with investors due to the optimistic American statistics.

According to Bank Koltso Urala Foreign Exchange Transactions Director Igor Nesterovitch, the demand for the U.S. dollars in October had to do with the rather significant exchange rate fluctuations. The dollar cost 32.6 RUR at the beginning of the month and dropped down to 30 RUR throughout the next thirty days. Given the depressing news from the external markets, the local players thought this was a good price, so more dollars were bought.

‘November proved more serene, as the dollar fluctuated between 30 RUR and 31 RUR, which caused a downfall in the volume of dollars bought by the locals. We do not expect any hype around the dollar any time before the end of December,’ the analyst says.