Ruble continues to appreciate against dollar, euro and trade basket of currencies.
No reason was given for the decision. IMF staff will continue to monitor Russia s macro program. Meanwhile the President's Advisor on Economic Issues, Andrey Illarionov, said that there could be zero economic growth this year based the data for the first two months of 2001. Illarionov considers the poor performance to be the result of ruble real appreciation driven by high commodity prices and the inflationary effect of the reserve accumulation. Gloom not withstanding, other analysts report strong profitability, optimistic sales projections and strong investment programs among the companies they cover.