Banks in Russia increased the exchange rate for foreign currency. Russian stocks plummet.
The armed uprising of notorious Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is already making its mark on Russian financial and currency markets. On Saturday night, major banks increased the exchange rate of foreign currencies and brought down the value of the ruble. While the central bank’s official exchange rate for a ruble on Friday was 84.08 rubles per dollar and 91.49 rubles per euro, the Russian currency dipped below 100 rubles against the two currencies at some banks on Saturday. . Rosbank, for example, charged 105 rubles for a dollar and 115 rubles for a euro, according to the Ria Novosti news agency.
This brings back memories of the first few days after the start of the war in late February 2023, when the currency plummeted (officially at the time to over 120 rubles per dollar and over 130 rubles per euro) – before plummeting in the middle of the last year due to the strengthened external trade balance surplus.
The Wagner revolt also had a direct effect on the stock exchange. Shares of several companies collapsed on Friday night. That of the En+ utility or the Yandex Internet browser at over four percent, many others in the 3.5 percent range.
However, the accident gained momentum on Saturday morning. Data from Tinkoff Investizij app, quoted by financial news service Frank Media, show that Sberbank shares fell by 8.5%. At second-largest oil company Lukoil, it’s almost twelve percent. In Yandex, more than minus 13 percent, in Gazprom, more than minus four percent. The broker then stopped trading on the OTC market.