Russia Rushes to Sell $1.5 Billion as Eurobond Payment Nears
Russias central bank headquarters in Moscow.
Photographer: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images
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Russia’s central bank will offload 150 billion rubles ($1.5 billion) of foreign exchange in the domestic market, in what it said is a temporary acceleration of previously planned sales that should take some pressure off the ruble after one of the biggest depreciations among emerging economies.
The Bank of Russia said it may need to meet demand for hard currency from a repayment of Eurobonds this month and now plans to boost almost 10-fold its daily “mirroring operations” linked to investments from the government’s wealth fund. It will sell 21.4 billion rubles worth of foreign currency per day during Sept. 14-22, according to a statement Wednesday.