MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Central Bank on Monday scrapped its daily controls on the value of the ruble, allowing the battered currency to float freely in financial markets earlier than planned.
The bank, which had planned to let the ruble trade freely starting next year, made the move as the currency has come under sustained pressure in the face of Western sanctions over Ukraine and plummeting oil prices.
Observers said Russian banks were able to earn easy profits by taking loans from the Central Bank and buying dollars in the currency markets, a strategy that only helped drive the ruble down further. …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
