The amendments to the UTS Rules were discussed with participants in the currency market and regional currency exchanges, adopted by the MICEX Exchange Council and approved by the Bank of Russia.
The new schedule of trading in the euro in the UTS:
| Instrument | Trading time |
| EUR/RUB_UTS_TOD | From 10:00 till 11:30 |
| EUR/RUB_UTS_TOM | From 10:00 till 14:00 |
| SWAP_EUR/RUB_UTS_TOD_TOM | From 10:00 till 11:30 |
According to the MICEX CEO Alexander Potemkin, the Bank of Russia’s transition to a bi-currency benchmark (a basket of two currencies: the euro and the US dollar) in its exchange rate policy has increased the importance of the euro and participants’ interest in operations in the euro/ruble segment of the market.
Considering this, the MICEX amended, in June 2005, the normative base of the orderly currency market. The amendments are aimed at creating attractive conditions in the exchange segment of the euro/ruble market as a result of launching new instruments, similar to those used in trading in the US dollar, and modifying the system of risk management. In particular, the MICEX launched a new euro instrument with tomorrow settlements (TOM). Besides, participants were enabled to carry out swap deals TOD/TOM. The 100% preliminary deposition of funds was replaced with partial deposition (4% - for TOD instrument and 6% - for TOM instrument). The MICEX also changed the size and the order of payment of the commission for sale and purchase of the euro in the UTS.
The new measures have improved the attractiveness of the exchange euro market and increased its liquidity. In July-August 2005, the average daily volume of trading in the euro amounted to 15.2 million euros, which exceeds 1.5 times the figure for the first six months of 2005. In January – August 2005, the volume of trading in the euro reached 1725 million euros, 1.2 times more than in the same period of 2004 (1389 million euros).
According to participants, the extension of the time of trading in the euro/ruble segment will result in the growth of the volume of transactions.
