Source: Postimees, Estonia, November 11
The Russian Central Bank liberalized the exchange rate for the ruble on November 10 in reaction to the steady decline in the value of the currency, which has dropped more than 30 percent against the dollar since the start of the year. “The background to the ruble’s drop in value is the general poor state of the Russian economy, and above all the falling oil prices, which have considerably diminished export revenues….
The influence of the Western economic sanctions against Russia is another cause. The psychological impact – the general insecurity, negative expectations and complete unpredictability of Moscow’s economic and political behaviour – is probably even more significant. The release of the exchange rate was a moment of truth for Russia: the Central Bank couldn’t adequately protect the ruble, so now the exchange rate has to be stabilized.
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That ‘moment of truth’ may provide one more compelling reason for Russia to intensify its search for commercial ties with countries interested in making non-US dollar denominated currency swaps.
The falling currency should be good for Russia since oil and gas are priced in US dollars. It only makes imports more expensive, so a new I-Pad is out of the question in St. Petersburg.