Russia's finance ministry said on Wednesday that it would more than double its purchases of foreign currency and gold in the month ahead, thanks in part to higher than expected income tax receipts.

The finance ministry said its purchases of foreign currencies and gold for the period from April 5 to May 7 would amount to the equivalent of 235.3 billion roubles ($2.55 billion), or 11.2 billion roubles per day.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had predicted purchases totalling 117.5 billion roubles.

In the previous period, between March 7 and April 4, the ministry had planned to buy foreign currency worth 93.7 billion roubles.

 

($1 = 92.4050 roubles) (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by)