The Central Bank of Russia has suspended currency interventions in support of the ruble, the head of the regulator, Elvira Nabiullina, announced on Monday. According to Nabiullina, the regulator is unable to carry them out because of Russia's assets freeze by US and EU member states.
"Due to restrictions on the use of foreign exchange reserves in dollars and euros, we did not carry out any interventions today. The government has announced a decision to introduce the mandatory sale of 80% of export earnings. This measure will ensure an even supply of foreign currency on the domestic fx market to meet the needs of importers and citizens. At the same time we are taking a number of steps to limit export of capital by non-residents," said Nabiullina.
Russia 'extremely likely' to default if war in Ukraine continues, banking lobby says
Russia is very likely to default on foreign debt and its economy will suffer a double-digit contraction this year after the West launched sanctions unprecedented in scale and coordination, a global banking industry lobby group said on Monday.
"If we stay here and this (the crisis) escalates, then default and restructuring is likely," Elina Ribakova, the lobby group's deputy chief economist told reporters during a media call.