The russian ruble accelerated its decline starting midweek. For today, July 7, the Russia’s Central Bank fixed its official USDRUB exchange rate at 92.57 rubles per dollar, EURRUB at 100.7 rubles per euro and CNYRUB at 12.75 rubles per yuan. On July 5, when the ruble’s decline accelerated dramatically, EURRUB at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange exceeded 99 for the first time since March 2022, while the USDRUB skyrocketed above 90. Some prominent domestic Fx analysts believe that in the future, the ruble will continue to decline.

Head of CBR Nabiullina said in an interview that the “negative dynamics of the ruble exchange rate bears pro-inflationary risks”, and the Central Bank “will take this into account when making a decision on the key rate”. At present, the CBR’s key rate is at 7.5%, and the Central Bank has not changed it since September 2022.

When asked about currency fluctuations, Nabiullina reiterated that the Central Bank does not target the ruble exchange rate: “Any rate is acceptable for us. We take it into consideration in our monetary and credit policy”. The Central Bank is “only ready and willing to intervene with interventions when it sees risks for financial stability”. CBR said it doesn’t see such risks at the moment.

Meanwhile, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin spoke about various issues at the virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State Council on Tuesday, July 4. The meeting was also attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Besides pushing for increased use of national currencies in trade settlements, Putin stated that the SCO ”is strongly committed to creating a truly just and multipolar world order — an order based on international law and common principles of mutually respectful cooperation between sovereign states.”