Russia's ruble is sliding to its lowest level in two years
A weaker ruble means higher prices at home, less spending power abroad, and another round of belt tightening for most Russians. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) blame the fall in the ruble’s value on new U.S sanctions bill recently introduced to Congress, but said the central bank “has enough instruments to prevent threats to financial stability”.
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) blame the fall in the ruble’s value on new U.S sanctions bill recently introduced to Congress, but said the central bank “has enough instruments to prevent threats to financial stability”.
This is reported by The Moscow Times, after Russia’s ruble fell to 69,40 against the dollar on August 13, its lowest level in two years.
The ruble’s value is pulled down by a combination of the threat of new U.S sanctions and the collapse of the Turkish lira.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted that the dollar has become a more and more risky instrument for international settlements, and that Russia may start using other currencies for oil trading — a long-standing Kremlin ambition.
According to The Moscow Times the CBR has also said it is willing to intervene if the volatility in the exchange rates becomes too great.
The Finance ministry has already stopped buying currency to build up Russia’s gross international reserves, putting recently announced plans to increase buying currency on hold.CBR, on the other side, said all planned purcheses of foreign currencies for reserves will be done anyway in accordance with the budget rule.