In the wake of the various sanctions by the West and the printing of money by the Bank of Russia, the ruble depreciates. This may not be all bad for Russia, though.
On Monday, August 22th, the Russian ruble briefly reached a point of 100 against the U.S. dollar, approaching its lowest value in 17 months. This depreciation was attributed by President Vladimir Putin’s economic advisors to the loose monetary policy, causing a swift decline.
Since the beginning of the year, the ruble has decreased by approximately 30% in relation to the U.S. dollar, a really great playground for all sorts of speculators and short sellers. Disagreeing with Putin’s advisors, the Bank of Russia pointed to the significant reduction in the country’s trade balance as the reason, noting an 85% decline in the current account surplus from January to July compared to the previous year. During the mid – afternoon trading session in London, the ruble was slightly above 101 against the dollar. In response to this situation, Russia’s central bank announced an extraordinary rate meeting scheduled for today. Stay tuned…
