
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 1, 1993                   TAG: 9306010074
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: MOSCOW                                LENGTH: Short

RUBLE'S FALL BREAKS 1,000 TO THE DOLLAR

The ruble dropped to 1,024 against the dollar Monday, breaking the 1,000-ruble barrier for the first time. Experts blamed the free fall on inflation, which has hovered at about 20 percent a month.

The mark was considered more a psychological blow than anything else. It continued the ruble's fall since the Soviet Union's collapse in December 1991, when it still fetched better than 100 to the dollar.

The ruble began the year at around 400 to the dollar and slumped to 692 by April 1. On Thursday, the official rate was 994 to the dollar. The ruble has fallen even further on the black market, where one dollar will now buy 1,150 rubles on the black market, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

"It's a psychological barrier for the population and mass media, but not for banking circles," said Oleg Dobritsky, an economist for the Business commercial bank.

The average Russian wage is about 23,000 rubles a month, now worth less than $23. - Associated Press

by CNB