Aug 15. Russia's Finance Ministry will hold an auction to place budget resources on bank deposits for a total of RUB 100 bn at 0.8% interest rate on August 19, 2008, the ministry said in a press release. The date of placement is August 20 and the date to return funds to the budget is September 17. The lowest amount to apply for from a lending institution is RUB 200 mn and the maximum number of applications from a lending institution is five. At the previous auction held on August 12, the ministry auctioned off a record amount of RUB 119.0 bn against the backdrop of deteriorating conditions on the money market, while RUB 300 bn was offered. The weighted average rate was set at 8.17% and the cut-off rate was 0.8%. On Monday, the shortage of ruble liquidity among Russian players was exacerbated due to cash outflow of non-residents from ruble-denominated assets and the situation on the forex market, since the Bank of Russia acted as the main buyer of rubles on the Russian forex market.