Kā parasti grūtos laikos, Krievijā šņabja cenas tiek samazinātas. Foto: ITAR-TASS/LETA
The Russian rouble has regained some ground but it is still down by 24% against the euro compared to a year ago due to tumbling oil prices and continued capital flight.
And currencies in its vicinity have not escaped this fate either: Over the same period the Belarusian rouble has depreciated by 17%, the Moldovan leu by 12% and the Ukrainian hryvna by no less than 50%. The latest victim was Azerbaijan, which devalued by a third on 22 February - just a few days after the central bank chairman had "assured" people that there was no need for such a devaluation....
For these countries Russia is a major trading partner and devaluation might be necessary to maintain suitable competitiveness but it has also left currency markets in some turmoil with devastatingly high interest rates as the result - the key policy rate in Russia is 15% and in Belarus 40% (8 March 2015).
