The Russian national currency is suffering its worst turmoil since the 1998 default, as a combination of dropping oil prices, trader fears, and reduced access to international financing has sent it into free fall.
25 December 2014
The Russian currency continues to rise at the opening of the Moscow Exchange, standing at 52.7 rubles against the US dollar and 64.5 to the euro at 11am MSK. The Central Bank of Russia announced Thursday it hadn’t sold any currency on December 23.
24 December 2014
Three of the major PC suppliers in Russia - Acer, Asus and Lenovo - have denied rumors supplies to the country will be suspended. The companies told Lenta.ru they are adjusting prices to the new ruble rate and the models and quantity available.
The ruble started to lose ground against the US dollar and the euro in the middle of the trading session in Moscow Wednesday, as the international rating agency S&P revised its outlook for Russian debt and said it could be dropped to junk status in January.
Asus, Russia’s second biggest player in the PC market, has stopped supplies to the country amid sharp fluctuations in the ruble’s exchange rate, says Taipei Times. The company is expected to resume deliveries after the currency stabilizes. Other foreign electronics producers like Apple, Samsung, Sony and HTC have responded to a ruble crisis by increasing their prices.
The Russian ruble is continuing its strengthening against hard currencies Wednesday trading at 54.55 against the US dollar and 66.59 to the euro. At 10:50 MSK both dollar and euro had lost more than 1 percent of their value since the last closing of the Moscow Stock Exchange.
23 December 2014
The Russian Ruble closed at 54.6 against the US Dollar and 66.5 against the euro Tuesday, showing a continued recovery during the trading session. This was the third consecutive strengthening session for the ruble as the Central Bank of Russia used its big financial tools.
READ MORE: Ruble at 2-wk high as Central Bank pulls out big financial tools
Yota Devices the maker of the Russia-made YotaPhone 2 has increased its prices by 20 percent in Russia due to the 35 percent change in the ruble exchange rate since the end of November. The decision was made because the company uses foreign component suppliers, and payment is in foreign currency, said CEO Vladislav Martynov quoted by TASS.
Not just evil American Apple that's raising prices. Russia's own YotaPhone 2 will be 20% more expensive soon. #rublecollapse
— Natalia Antonova (@NataliaAntonova) December 23, 2014
Russia’s five huge oil exporters including Gazprom and Rosneft have been ordered to sell part of their foreign exchange revenues in the next couple of months, Kommersant reports Tuesday. This is expected to add an estimated $1 billion daily to the market, which should serve as strong support for the ruble.
The Russian ruble has continued strengthening in the first hour of trading at the Moscow Exchange Tuesday. The currency stood at 54 against the US Dollar and 66 against the euro at 11:00 MSK. Meanwhile, the oil has also grown, with Brent trading at $60.23/bbl.
The link between #oil prices and the #ruble has been broken for now... pic.twitter.com/A1tGj8oO0N
— jeroen blokland (@jsblokland) December 23, 2014
22 December 2014
The US dollar fell 3.55 rubles below last week’s close finishing Monday trading in Moscow at 56 rubles. For the first time since December 11 the greenback has fallen below 55 rubles during the day. Experts believe the ruble’s strengthening is caused by an increased demand for rubles due to tax payments and big Russian exporters selling foreign currency.
The Central Bank announced it will provide $350 million (30 billion rubles) in financial assistance to Trust Bank, Russia's 29th-largest lender in terms of assets.
The Russian government is more concerned with the overall economic situation in the country rather than the ruble rate, said First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov during a meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The weakening ruble is currently helping to offset cheaper oil prices, as oil exports are paid for in dollars. Both oil and the ruble have lost almost the same 40 percent of their value.
Apple has increased prices for iPhones in Russia by another 30 percent when it reopened its online store Monday. That was the second time Apple adjusted prices in Russia in less than a month, as it seeks to compensate for the falling ruble. At the end of November, Apple raised prices in Russia by about 25 percent.
Apple Inc. Raises iPhone Prices In Russia http://t.co/5TWTIbmbdH
— Ruth C. Greene (@ruth_greene) December 22, 2014
KIA has suspended sales and even stopped shipments of already-paid-for cars to Russia, according to Kommersant. The paper’s sources suppose the company hopes to return money for existing contracts and then resell the cars at higher prices. KIA itself, however, says that the delay in shipments is temporary and caused by increased demand.
The Russian currency continued strengthening on Monday, trading at 56.4 against the US dollar and 69.2 against the euro at 11:10 MSK. On Thursday, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) allocated $500 million in the country’s sovereign funds of the Treasury, though there have been no interventions so far.
19 December 2014
The Russian Central Bank added to its gold reserves, the world's fifth largest, adding 38.2 million ounces as of December 1. Gold reserves account for about 10 percent of total international reserves, which currently stand at $414 billion.
The ruble showed little movement Friday, hovering between 59-61 against the USD.
#ruble looks like a pegged one today after such a crazy week. #Russia#FX#Venäjä#crisispic.twitter.com/CZF00iAFkj
— VladimirMiklashevsky (@vmiklsuomi) December 19, 2014
The Russian ruble gained ground after the Russian government pledged up to $6.54 billion in loans to banks to pay off debt and for new projects. The money will come from the National Welfare Fund and be available for any bank with over 100 billion in capital, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Friday.
The ruble is rising against the US Dollar and the euro in opening of trade at the Moscow Exchange Friday, marking the second day of recovery. The Russian currency was at 60.9 against the dollar and 75 against the euro. The Central Bank of Russia has said it hasn’t intervened in the foreign exchange market since Monday.
18 December 2014
The Russian currency edged lower against the US dollar to fix at 60.6 at the close of the Moscow Exchange Thursday. Against the euro, it grew to 74.6 during the day. Overall the ruble continued to recover Thursday, offsetting drastic losses in previous days.
IKEA is suspending sales of kitchen furniture in Russia in order to review prices. The company is considering resuming sales after December 20.
BP, which has a 19.75 percent stake in Russia's Rosneft oil company, will likely suffer a large blow in fourth quarter earnings, due to the weak ruble and low oil prices, Reuters reported.
The ruble has been volatile again against the US dollar and euro after Putin’s press conference. The Russian currency has fallen to 61.5 rubles to the dollar and 75.5 to the euro. The main Russian indexes RTS and MICEX have risen seven percent and five percent respectively.
Audi reportedly also stopping sales in Russia, due to price volatility. Joining Nissan, BMW, Ford, Honda, and Skoda, which also reportedly stopped sales, worried they will lose money on devalued currency.
AUDI STOPS CAR SALES IN RUSSIA DUE TO RUBLE FALL
— Russian Market (@russian_market) December 18, 2014
The ruble showed little movement during the President's presser, hovering around 61 rubles per dollar. Brent, which rose more than 5 percent to $63 per barrel, did not bring up the ruble along with it.
Russia President says Central Bank has acted "appropriately" but could have made a move earlier. The president said the crisis, in the worst case scenario, will continue for another 2 years.
BREAKING: Russian economy will inevitably bounce back, 2 years in worst case scenario - Putin http://t.co/JeXTILnH5apic.twitter.com/rxZ25qAIKH
— RT (@RT_com) December 18, 2014
The Russian currency is buoyant ahead of a major public Q&A session with President Putin. It continued its recovery Thursday to open at 58.3 rubles against the USD and 71.9 against the euro.
READ MORE: Ruble continues recovery hours before Putin's Q&A
17 December 2014
Russians are making fun of the ruble crisis, posting pictures showing people rushing to buy things after 'Black Tuesday’ - the day the ruble lost 20% of its value.
READ MORE: Shopping frenzy, social media fuss and jokes in Russia as ruble collapses
Forex Finland stopped buying the Russian ruble due to market volatility and the currency’s fast depreciation. The company said it would conduct operations in the ruble with existing clients, but won’t buy in from new customers for an indefinite period of time.
Central Bank releases a statement outlining 7 strategies ahead including granting credit to credit institutions, as well as letting banks use the exchange rate from 3rd quarter, shielding them from the ruble's recent weakness.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Russia has enough market instruments to break the drastic ruble fall, which is a result of an “emotion game.”
READ MORE: Russia has enough resources to reverse ruble crisis – Medvedev
The MSCI investment company said Russia may be excluded from the MSCI Emerging Markets Index due to the turmoil in its financial system, if the Russian government chooses to start restricting the free flow of capital to counter it.
Ruble saw a rollercoaster morning at MICEX, falling on Wednesday’s opening only to rebound after the Central Bank launched a massive $2 billion currency intervention.
1ST CHINESE CORPORATE VICTIM? Chinese automaker Geely sank in stock market amid #rublecollapsehttp://t.co/OT4GLaFUyKpic.twitter.com/C4TH4iXR6W
— George Chen (@george_chen) December 17, 2014
16 December 2014
The dollar and the euro rebounded on MICEX trading to 67.8 rubles and 85.8 rubles respectively. The correction came after Economy Minister Aleksey Ulyukaev said the Russian government has prepared several measures to stabilize the Russian financial sector at a recent emergency meeting.
He added the ruble may recover somewhat after a 2 percent rise in the oil price in the US, where barrel traded at $57.03 at the end of the day after hitting bottom at $54.86
READ MORE: Ruble rate does not reflect macroeconomic situation, govt to take measures - minister
Major Auto, a leading Russian car dealer suspended sales throughout its retailer chain due to the currency volatility.
Apple announces that its online store in Russia has been taken down for maintenance. “Apple Store is being updated and will soon resume its work,” the company’s Russian branch said in a statement.
In mid-November Apple decided to change prices for its products sold online in Russia due to the ruble plunge.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev chairs an emergency meeting on the financial situation in Russia. He met with Central Bank ministers and governmental officials, and they outlined key strategies to be increasing foreign exchange refinancing and selling off foreign currency if necessary.
Raiffeisenbank Russia online service experiences access problems due to the large number of customers trying to use it simultaneously, the bank told TASS.
#RubleCollapse Via @mpeer: A currency exchange service in #Moscow surrenders & stops quoting pic.twitter.com/7OxblGNLsa#Ruble#Russia”
— Steven Schoenfeld (@SASchoenfeld) December 16, 2014
Rosneft Head Igor Sechin dismisses as a rumor and a provocation reports of the company’s involvement in the plunging currency market. He added that Rosneft has no plans to suspend projects funded by Russia’s National Wealth Fund.
Exchange rate at MICEX peaks to 100 rubles per euro. Dollar costs over 80 rubles.
READ MORE: Ruble plummets losing more than 20% in a day, hitting new dollar and euro lows
The Central Bank of Russia met for a 1:00am meeting Tuesday morning, and shocked the ruble when they hiked interest rates to 17 percent, in an attempt to quell the run on the ruble.
READ MORE: Russian Central Bank hikes key interest rate to 17% to halt ruble roil