Real effective ruble exchange rate drops 5.3% MoM in August - Central Bank

MOSCOW. Sept 6 (Interfax) - The ruble's real effective exchange rate against the basket of currencies of Russia's main trading partners dropped 5.3% month-on-month in August, and is currently slightly below the average value for recent years, namely down 1.7% to the median from January 2015 to August 2024, the Central Bank said.

The ruble's real effective exchange rate was previously reported to have appreciated 1.8% month-on-month and depreciated 5.2% year-on-year in July.

The ruble's volatility intensified in August, and it is approximately at the level of the end of 2022, the CBR said. The ruble depreciated 1.8%-8.0% against the basket of currencies in August. The CBR said that changes in individual currency pairs varied greatly owing to the increased segmentation of the foreign currency market. The sanctions imposed against the Moscow Exchange Group were tangible the first time in August, with significant discrepancies between the official exchange rates of the dollar and the euro to the ruble, as well as between cross exchange rates calculated through the yuan-ruble exchange rates.

"This has been partly owing to the reduction in opportunities for arbitrage transactions on the part of individual market participants who may conduct forex transactions on the Russian and foreign currency markets," the CBR said.