National flag flies over the Russian Central Bank headquarters in Moscow, Russia May 27, 2022.
Maxim Shemetov | Reuters
Russia’s central bank on Tuesday hiked interest rates by 350 basis points to 12% at an emergency meeting, as Moscow looks to halt a rapid depreciation of the country’s ruble currency.
The ruble slumped near 102 to the dollar on Monday, as President Vladimir Putin’s economic advisor, Maxim Oreshkin, penned an op-ed in Russian state-owned Tass news agency that blamed the plunging currency and the acceleration of inflation on “loose monetary policy.”
The Bank of Russia subsequently announced an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to reassess its key interest rate, which previously sat at 8.5%.
The ruble strengthened early on Tuesday, as investors bet on a significant tightening of monetary policy from the central bank, and was trading just below 96 to the dollar shortly before 8 a.m. London time.