The Russian economy has flown in the face of tepid growth predictions, beating forecasts for 2011 by as much as 0.2 per cent. As the world struggles to return to a steady level of development, the global powerhouses of the start of the century are being overtaken by developing economies, such as that of Brazil, [...]

The ban on exporting grain from Russia has ended, leading the Central Bank to consider a number of options to control the market situation. Russia introduced the ban in August of last year as drought and wildfires resulted in a substantial decrease in the country’s grain yield. To avoid a national shortfall in grain supplies [...]

The Central Bank of Russia has indicated that it may raise interest rates to further strengthen the rouble. First Deputy Chairman of the bank, Alexei Ulyukayev, told reporters last week, "I see further upside potential". The rouble now stands at its highest level against the dollar since 2008. Senior figures at the Central Bank – [...]

The Central Bank of Russia has made the decision to leave interest rates unchanged, even though consumer prices are surging. It chose, instead, to increase the reserve requirements of banks, with the aim of cutting rouble liquidity. These reserve requirements were raised from 1 February. A statement from the Central Bank said: "The decision is [...]

If the Russian government raised the minimum capital requirement, the vast majority of the country's banks will be forced to borrow a total of 455 billion roubles. Russian central bank board member Mikhail Sukhov spoke at the government's banking sector strategy discussions, saying, "Only one third of Russia's 1,100-plus banking system is ready to meet [...]

Russia's Central Bank (CB) has announced that it may increase its key interest rate to eight per cent as of early next year. According to reports in Moscow's daily newspaper, Kommersant, the Central Bank is considering adding 25 basis points to its key rate within the first three months of next year. This rise is [...]

In a bid to fill in a large gap in Moscow's budget, the city's Mayor has announced that he plans to plunder government assets. Company shares are to go up for auction as part of a privatisation programme to help City Hall to source another 13 billion roubles next year. This amount is more than [...]

Russia’s Federal Grid Company has issued a seven-year 15-billion rouble bond to The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), making it the first Russian power company to achieve such a long maturity on a domestic bond. EBRD, whose investment in the bond amounts to 3.66 billion roubles, has taken up 24 per cent of [...]

While the stock market in Russia has had a poor summer, the country's bond market has picked up thanks to its risk-averse banks. Earlier this year, Russian state Eurobonds due to mature in 2020 were issued at a price of 99.3 to par. They dropped as low as 92.5 in May as investors sold them [...]

The Russian Central Bank (CBR) today announced a cut of 25 basis points in its refinancing rate, bringing the rate down to 8.50%. The CBR hopes to stimulate growth in the economy with this monetary policy easing. The strength of the rouble has been helping to keep inflation down and there is a small upside [...]