Meanwhile the U.S. is experiencing inflation and empty shelves. Let's Go Brandon!!!!
Russian Ruble Continues Recovery From Sanctions Slump, Hits Seven-Year High The Russian ruble hit a seven-year high on Wednesday, continuing its recovery from an initial, dramatic slump earlier this year due to Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine.
Although the Kremlin has celebrated the rebound as evidence that Russia is successfully overcoming sanctions, some economists argue that it masks deeper problems for the Russian economy, such as an imbalance between imports and exports along with an excessive reliance on energy sales.
When the Moscow exchange opened on Wednesday morning, the ruble’s official exchange rate strengthened to 52.80 rubles per U.S. dollar, the currency’s highest level since June 2015. By the time markets closed at 7 PM local time, it had slightly weakened to 53.15 rubles per dollar.
Previously, the ruble overtook the Brazilian currency, the real, in May to become the best-performing currency in the world, gaining more than 11 percent on the dollar since the start of the year, according to a Bloomberg dataset.
The ruble’s recent rally represents a significant turnaround to its rapid depreciation in late February and early March, when the U.S. and its allies in Europe and Asia moved to impose unprecedented sanctions against Russia over the Kremlin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine.
The economic shock from these new sanctions initially caused the ruble to lose more than 30 percent of its value. Between February 23 and March 7, the currency’s exchange rate plummeted from 81 rubles per dollar to a record low of 139 rubles per dollar.
Seeking to protect their savings from the ruble’s sharp decline in value, Russians across the country rushed to withdraw foreign currency from their local banks and ATMs. Panic buying was reported in many cities, as Russians sought to stock up on goods in anticipation of shortages and runaway inflation.............
https://www.cnsnews.com/article/international/dimitri-simes/russian-ruble-continues-recovery-sanctions-slump-hits-seven
