Russian rouble drops to lowest level against the dollar in 32 months
Al Jazeera
Currency falls beyond 110 to the US dollar for the first time since just after Ukraine invasion, Russian state media report.
The Russian rouble has dropped to its lowest level in more than 32 months amid geopolitical risks over the escalation of the war in Ukraine and new United States sanctions.
The currency fell beyond 110 to the US dollar on Wednesday for the first time since March 16, 2022, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported. That was three weeks after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to London Stock Exchange Group data, the rouble also broke through the 15 mark against China’s yuan, also its lowest level since March 2022.
The fall of Russia’s currency has been compounded by a fall of more than 20 percent in its stock market so far this year as investors move their savings from stocks into deposits.
Brokerage analysts BCS told the Reuters news agency that the “market is awaiting the financial authorities’ reaction for the rouble’s devaluation”, adding that forex purchases “resembled panic in an environment of uncertainty”.
