Russia begins mobilizing leftover reserves to save ruble

The Russian Finance Ministry has begun selling its leftover currency reserves on the market, the ministry's press office said Wednesday.

The amount that can be sold on the market is almost 7 billion U.S. dollars, which "involves funds on the federal budget's single account in Russian Federal Treasury," according to the ministry.

The move is part of the government's new measures taken on Tuesday to stabilize domestic foreign currency market and prop up the ruble.

After a government meeting on financial and economic situation, Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Tuesday that the government has worked out measures to stabilize the currency market.

Earlier in the day, Vladimir Chistyukhin, deputy chief of the Russian Central Bank, said that the bank has no evidence of deliberate manipulation in financial market.

"We've got the tools to affect players...But there must be the confirmed signs of manipulation (for using them)," Interfax news agency quoted Chistyukhin as saying.

At the moment, the bank cannot prove there are deliberate speculators "attacking" the currency exchange markets, he said, adding that the bank is carefully investigating all the cases of manipulation on the financial market, including the foreign exchange one.

Chistyukhin also assured that the suspension of currency trade would never be an option even under those difficult circumstances.

Ulyukayev on Tuesday urged the bank to take measures aimed at increasing foreign currency liquidity supply on the domestic market in order to ensure "greater balance between demand and supply on the domestic foreign currency market."

Ruble has lost nearly 50 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar and euro since March, despite several currency interventions of the Central Bank.