Russian ruble drops to historic low amid sanctions
Russia’s currency dropped to an all-time low against the dollar on Tuesday as investors fret about the fallout of economic sanctions.
The United States and the European Union last week imposed a new round of sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine that consisted in, among other things, blocking off Western financial markets to key Russian companies and limiting imports of some technologies.
The Russian currency fell more than 1% to 38.80 rubles against the U.S. dollar by noon Moscow time Tuesday. The ruble has lost over 2.7% in just two days.
Economist Alexei Kudrin commented: “The sanctions that have been imposed are going to have an effect (on the economy) for the next one or two years because they have limited opportunities for investment in this uncertain environment.”
Russia saw investors pull a whopping $61 billion in capital out of the country last year, largely due to concerns over the investment climate. The money has been flowing out of Russian even faster this year, with market watchers like Kudrin now predicting about $110 billion could be withdrawn by the end of the year.
Source: Usatoday- Russian ruble drops
