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Russia raises interest rates by a factor of two as the rouble falls due to sanctions.

by Seerat Fayaz   ·  February 28, 2022   ·  

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The Russian national bank expanded its key financing cost from 9.5 percent to 20%. Following the inconvenience of new Western endorses, the rouble fell by 30%; the money then, at that point, recuperated to stand 20% lower. The currency’s purchasing power is eroding, and ordinary Russians’ savings are at risk of being wiped out.

“These are heavy sanctions, they’re problematic, but Russia has the necessary potential to compensate for the damage caused by these sanctions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ahead of an emergency meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his economic advisers on Monday. He stated that Russia would retaliate with its own sanctions.

The value of the Russian rouble plummeted after the West imposed new sanctions on Russia, including a prohibition on some of the country’s banks from using the SWIFT international payment system.

On Sunday, social media videos appeared to show long lines forming at cash machines and money exchanges in Moscow, with people concerned that their bank cards would stop working or that limits on the amount of cash they could withdraw would be imposed.

After cash demand reached its highest level since March 2020, Russia’s central bank was forced to increase the amount of money it supplies to ATMs.

Any UK entity is prohibited from transacting with Russia’s central bank, finance ministry, or wealth fund.

“External conditions for the Russian economy have dramatically changed,” the central bank said in a statement, adding that the rate increase “will ensure a rise in deposit rates to levels required to compensate for the increased depreciation and inflation risk.”

One more endeavor was made to help the rouble when the national bank and the money service mutually requested Russian trading firms to sell 80% of their unfamiliar cash incomes available.

Simultaneously, it temporarily prohibited non-residents from selling government obligations in order to relieve pressure on the rouble from panicked foreign investors looking to cash out. This may make it more difficult for western funds to reduce their exposure to Russian-listed companies.

The European Central Bank warned that several European subsidiaries of Russia’s state-owned Sberbank — one of the Russian banks sanctioned by the UK — were failing or were on the verge of failing due to the reputational cost of the Ukraine war.

Russia’s banks have effectively been banned from getting to Western monetary business sectors by the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union, with exchanges with the national bank, state-possessed venture reserves, and the Finance Ministry restricted.

The measures, according to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, demonstrated the UK’s “determination to apply severe economic sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Russia has approximately $630 billion (£470 billion) in reserves accumulated as a result of soaring oil and gas prices.

However, because much of this money is held in foreign currencies such as the dollar, euro, and sterling, as well as gold, a Western ban on dealing with Russia’s central bank prevents Moscow from accessing the funds.

Last week, Russia’s national bank had to build how much money accessible at ATMs after cash request arrived at its most elevated level since March 2020.

On Monday, the public bank reported that it had instructed vendors to end the execution, all else being equivalent, to sell Russian endeavors set up by obscure legitimate components and individuals.

The sanctions imposed by the EU, the US, the United Kingdom, and others are unprecedented. It is one thing to block a country’s foreign reserves, such as Iran or Venezuela, but quite another to act against Russia, a major player in global trade and a significant supplier of oil and gas.

The currency markets’ reaction has been dramatic, with the rouble plummeting despite the central bank’s efforts to prop it up with interest rates. There may have already been a rush to foreign currency ATMs in Russian cities, but the full impact has yet to be felt.

At the very least, prices will skyrocket; banking collapses, hyperinflation, and a deep recession are all possible outcomes.

Sanctions, however, are a two-way street. Cutting off the central bank’s reserves and limiting Russian institutions’ access to the Swift network will not only harm Russia; western institutions will also suffer losses due to debts that cannot or will not be repaid.

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