00:00The ruble has fallen to its lowest value against the dollar since the invasion of Ukraine began
00:06in 2022, but the slide will bring some benefits to the government.
00:14If the currency is weak, it will be easier for the Russian government to decrease the
00:20deficit, the shortage of the budget, because the payments within Russia would be in weak
00:28rubles, and whatever payments come from Russian experts will be in hard currency, and this
00:37is a natural tool for improving the shape of the budget.
00:45At a press conference, President Putin appeared relaxed about the ruble.
00:50There are many, many, many factors of a seasonal nature, so in general, in my opinion, the
00:57situation is under control, and there's absolutely no grounds for panic, well, how can I say
01:02it?
01:05But the weakening currency is threatening to erode the purchasing power of the Russian
01:09people, it would further increase the cost of imported goods, and could flare up already
01:14runaway inflation.
01:18The fall follows fresh US sanctions on Gazprom Bank, a key conduit for Russia's energy revenues
01:24That'll make payments more complicated for European nations still buying fossil fuels
01:28from Russia.
01:31And I think that some of European countries are going to suffer, because they will have
01:37to find a new chains of payment to Gazprom, or to Russian oil companies for deliveries
01:44of refined petroleum products, natural gas, Turkey and Hungary are already complaining,
01:53and they have admitted that they are looking for some bypasses to organise the payments
02:01to Russia.
02:04Russia's central bank now says it's pausing foreign currency purchases in order to ease
02:09pressure on financial markets.
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