Yesterday Russia’s foreign exchange reserves fell below $500 billion for the first time in eight months, dropping to $484.7 billion, not just because of the $50 billion rescue package but also due to the dragging efforts from the Central Bank to shore up the value of the ruble. We thought that by now we would have seen a ruble depreciation, but this guy from Goldman Sachs has some other thoughts: “A stunning one-week drop, more than twice the fall in the previous weeks,” said Anna Zadornova from Goldman Sachs. (…) “We expect the Central Bank to continue to support the currency in the near term by defending the ruble in an effort to calm the population’s fears … and because it perceives itself to be under speculative attack from the markets. (…) We believe the currency is mainly under attack by the Russian population.” (Source: Moscow Times)

Last 5 posts by Robert Amsterdam

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