Russia’s Central Bank Steps Up To Support Ruble
Russia’s Central Bank has swept in to help support the Russian ruble and push the currency up from its four-year low against the U.S. dollar.
The bank started selling foreign currency reserves — in other words, buying rubles — Tuesday, adding that it was “ready to use additional tools to maintain financial stability.”
The ruble was up almost 4%, trading at 72 to $1, but still noticeably weaker than the 60-65 range which the currency held at during the first two months of the year.
With benchmark Brent crude oil currently priced around $35 per barrel, the regulator will sell around $1 billion of foreign reserves a month, Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist of the Institute of International Finance calculated.