Russian central bank suspends foreign exchange purchases due to sharp drop in oil prices
Xinhua News Agency, Moscow, March 9th. The Russian Central Bank announced on the 9th that due to the sharp fluctuations in international oil prices, the bank decided to stop buying foreign exchange on the Russian domestic market in the next 30 days to maintain Russian financial stability.
The Russian central bank published an announcement on its website saying that it would study the financial situation this month and decide when to resume foreign exchange purchases. At the same time, the bank is "tracking and observing changes in the financial market and is preparing to take other supplementary measures to maintain Russian financial stability."
Saudi Arabia, the world's number one oil exporter, announced recently that it has significantly reduced official oil prices and increased production since April. This news led to a sharp dive in international oil prices. Factors such as investors selling high-risk assets have affected the Russian currency market, causing the ruble to weaken rapidly against the US dollar and the euro.
According to Russia ’s Tas News Agency, on the 9th interbank market, the exchange rate of the US dollar to the ruble reached 1 to 73.47, which was the first time since March 2016 to exceed 1 to 73; the exchange rate of the euro to the ruble was 1 to 83.77, the first time since February 2016 Break 1 to 83.
In August 2018, due to turbulent market conditions, the Russian Central Bank stopped purchasing foreign exchange until the end of the year, and it did not resume its regular foreign exchange purchase business until January 15, 2019.