The pressure on the position of the ruble is exerted by a cumulative number of factors, despite high oil prices.
As PSB analyst Egor Zhilnikov noted, firstly, these are delays in export flows, as well as recovering imports to Russia. Secondly, this is an increased demand for foreign currency from banks, as a result of which there was a surge in the volume of swap transactions with the Central Bank.
“Thirdly, this is the subsequent decrease in foreign currency sales by the Ministry of Finance against the backdrop of rising oil prices,” the agency quotes Zhilnikov.Interfax“.
Recall that the Russian foreign exchange market has been operating under severe restrictions since the beginning of the war against Ukraine in February last year. In 2022, the official exchange rate of the ruble against the US dollar even strengthened from 80 to 74 rubles. During this time, the ruble lost its convertibility due to the imposed bans on the movement of capital.
The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation on April 5 announced a drop in oil and gas revenues of the Russian budget for January-March by 45%.
