The Russian ruble continues to decline despite the currency interventions by the Central Bank of Russia. On November 28, the ruble fell against the dollar, yuan, and euro during trading. Reports TSN. This information is provided by Kontrakty.UA.
This is reported by the publication "Kommersant."
The publication notes that suppliers of fruits and vegetables from countries that Russia refers to as "friendly" have canceled several export contracts to the Russian Federation due to the falling ruble.
It is clarified that due to increased currency risks and the sharp devaluation of the ruble, Russia has faced cancellations of export contracts for fruits from Egypt, Turkey, and Iran. Exporters from these countries are now more cautious and demand price revisions to account for the heightened currency risks.
Additionally, sellers of fruits and vegetables, which are mainly imported during the winter, have already begun holding back goods in anticipation of rising prices.
Foreign and Russian manufacturers of household appliances have informed retail chains about a 10% price increase on their products, according to Russian media citing official letters from the companies.
Among those who decided to raise prices are the French "Group SEB-East" (Tefal, Rowenta, Krups, etc.), Turkish IPH appliances (Beko, Indesit, Grunding, etc.), as well as Russian companies Kuppersberg and Vard. All except "Group SEB-East" have raised wholesale prices starting December 2. The French company announced an increase effective January 1, 2025.
The decline in the ruble is exacerbated by a more than 20% drop in the stock market this year. Investors are actively withdrawing funds from stocks, preferring deposits with interest rates exceeding the Central Bank's base rate, which is set at 21%.
This situation intensifies inflation, which is likely to exceed the regulator's forecasts. This contradicts the strict monetary policy measures being implemented by the Central Bank, whose base rate has reached a record level not seen since 2003.
Analysts expect that by the end of the year, the ruble's exchange rate could reach 115-120 against the dollar. Some of them are urging the government and the Central Bank to take measures such as increasing the mandatory sale of foreign currency earnings by exporters and reducing state purchases of foreign currency.