Ruble rebounds as central bank steps in

The sliding Russian currency reversed losses late on Monday, rising back to the strong side of 100 against the US dollar, after the country’s central bank announced an extraordinary policy meeting set for Tuesday.

The ruble was trading 0.8% higher at 98.5 against the US dollar and at 107 to the euro at 5:44pm local time in Moscow. Earlier in the day, the ruble hit a 16-month low of 101 and 111, respectively.

The rebound follows an announcement by the Bank of Russia that it had called an emergency key rate meeting for Tuesday, vowing policy makers would publish a statement afterwards.

The regulator, who’s next scheduled interest rate decision had been planned for September 15, hiked the key rate by a percentage point to 8.5% last month, citing rising inflation. Prior to that the rate had remained unchanged for several consecutive meetings since last October.

The central bank assured on Monday that the ruble’s depreciation poses no risks to Russia’s financial stability, while President Vladimir Putin’s economic adviser, Maksim Oreshkin, said he expects the Russian currency to stabilize.

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