MOSCOW, April 22 (Reuters) - The Russian central bank is not worried by the depreciation of the rouble seen at the start of this week, and has not intervened in the currency market to stop it, its first deputy chairman was quoted as saying on Wednesday. The rouble lost around 2 percent versus a euro-dollar basket in as many days, snapping an eight-week rally and retreating in line with oil prices and stocks. [ID:nLL208083] "That fall is not frightening," Alexei Ulyukayev told Izvestia, according to extracts published on the newspaper's Web site, www.izvestia.ru.
"The rouble turned out to be overbought. Demand for it was too high and it appreciated too quickly. So the smallest news of falling oil prices was enough for speculators to stage a correction," he said.
"We did not come out on the market (on Tuesday)."
The rouble's retreat came after a rally which had marked the end of months of controlled devaluation to adjust the currency to Russia's worst financial crisis in a decade.
The central bank had spent around $200 billion, or a third of Russia's reserves, keeping the depreciation gradual during that time.
It has not sold dollars since the end of January, but had intervened in recent weeks by buying foreign currency to avoid excessive rouble appreciation. Ulyukayev also said the level at which the central bank had last intervened by buying foreign currency was 38 roubles to the basket.
On Wednesday, the rouble recovered some of its losses to close at 38.49 per basket, stronger than Tuesday's three-month low of 38.75.
The full interview is due to be published in the next few days. (Writing by Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Ron Askew)