Ruble Hits 2024 Low Amid Navalny’s Death and Central Bank Decision

The Russian ruble stumbled to its lowest point in over a month, affected by the passing of opposition figure Alexei Navalny and the central bank’s steadfast stance on its key interest rate at 16%.

Navalny’s demise, occurring during a prison outing in the Yamalo-Nenets region, as reported by the federal prisons service, led to outcries from his supporters and Western nations, alleging Kremlin involvement in his demise and negligence towards his medical needs.

This development triggered protests and global condemnation, further straining the ruble, already grappling with inflation spikes and geopolitical tensions.

Here’s a tweet by the British PM on the matter.

This is terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life.

My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy. https://t.co/AQvQQW5GBh

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) February 16, 2024

Bank of Russia Adds Pressure on the Ruble with Rate Hike

In other related news, the Russian central bank, which had raised rates five times since July to curb inflation, opted to leave them unchanged on Friday, citing some signs of easing price pressures and a more stable exchange rate.

However, it also warned that inflation, which stood at 6.7% in January, was still far above its 4% target and that tight monetary policy was needed for a long time.

The bank’s governor, Elvira Nabiullina, said the rate decision was unanimous and that the bank could cut rates in the second half of 2024 if inflation continued to slow down. She also said the bank was closely monitoring the situation with Navalny and its possible impact on the economy and the financial markets.

The ruble traded as high as 93.49 against the dollar earlier today and as high as 100.68 against the euro, losing 1.35% and 1.3%, respectively.

The ruble may get some support later this month as exporters sell foreign currency to pay taxes, but analysts say the outlook remains uncertain and depends on the political and epidemiological situation in Russia and abroad.

If you want to learn more about the ruble and other currencies and how to trade them successfully, you should check out our forex signals service.