Photo : “Moskovskaya Gazeta
The ruble continued to fall, hitting its lowest level against the dollar and Chinese yuan since March 2022. According to Reuters, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the government does not mind the weakening of the national currency, as it benefits exporters.
As of 09:30 GMT (11:30 Romanian time), the ruble was down 0.8% against the dollar, reaching 104.85 rubles to the dollar, the lowest level since March 2022, at the start of the war in Ukraine. During the trading session, the ruble even fell to 105.79 per dollar and 111.07 per euro.
In Moscow, these exchange rate fluctuations are seen as “very, very favourable” for Russian exporters, as a weaker ruble allows companies to get more money for exporting goods on the global market. According to Siluanov, “for exports, the exchange rate is more important than the interest rate,” and a weaker ruble has more advantages for business than the negative effects of the Russian central bank’s high base rate.
At the same time, analysts attribute the ruble’s decline to the effects of recent US sanctions against Gazprombank, which have disrupted payment flows and caused a shortage of foreign currency in Russia’s domestic market. In addition, the ruble is expected to reach 110 per dollar by the end of this year.
Analysts also predict that in the coming days, the ruble may receive support from the sale of foreign currency by exporting companies in preparation for taxation.
